AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

NT Bureau
Chennai, Feb 25:

        Former judge of Supreme Court Justice S Natarajan has said that had not saint Thirugnana Sambandar contributed his mite, then Tamil and 'saivam' would not have been flourished. Releasing the book Sambandar Kaattum Thiruthala Kaatchigal, written by P S Somasundaram, at Dwaragadoss Govardhan Vaishnava College, here, recently, the former judge hailed Sambandar's reformist approach especially against superstitious beliefs and also advocating temple entry to the underprivileged and inter-caste marriage through musical renditions.

        He also said that by reading the book one could feel the experience of visiting the temples. Felicitating, Chekkilar Research Centre vice-president A M Swaminathan said the book revealed that how 'saivam' had flourished amidst ritual practices, spread of other religions and language influences during the seventh century. He also said the book contained many useful tidbits.

        Speaking on the occasion, college principal S Narasimhan described the book as a living legend P S Somasundaram's masterpiece on a legendary Sambandar.

        College secretary Surat Ratan Thamani and Madras University, Institute of Correspondence Education, Tamil Department, Head, Aranga Ramalingam also spoke.