The Periya Puranam of Sekkizhar is the first hagiography of the 63 Saivite saints, collectively known as the Nayanmars. It dates to the 12th century. Apart from the biographies themselves, a matter of side interest is the wealth of detail each story has on the ecology of the places that each of the Nayanmars came from. While perusing some, we feel nothing much has changed, while in some others, we can only wonder at what has been lost.
Sekkizhar was born in what is today very much a part of the Chennai Metropolitan Area – Kundrathur. He was, therefore, very familiar with the region of Thondaimandalam, namely today’s KTCC, and a little more. One of the striking passages is in his narrative of the life of Thirukuripputhondar, who lived in Kanchipuram. While dwelling on the natural beauty of the region, Sekkizhar, in three succeeding verses, mentions Thiruvottriyur, Mylapore, Thiruvanmiyur, and Mamallai in exactly that order. They, in the 18th century, became part of Madras that is now Chennai. A traveller from north to south Chennai would follow the same coastal route even today.
