There were other literary luminaries in the Kamban era include Ottakuttan and Pugazhendi. The story of how this divine poem came about is a quintessentially Indian one. Kamban was a devotee of Nammalwar and his Kula Deivam (family deity) was Sri Narasimha. It is said that he finalized his Ramavataram Mahakavyam in Srirangam and presented the கம்ப ராமாயணம் to the world. It is known without doubt that his patron was Sadayappan Vallal (possibly a landlord or chieftain) of Thiruvennainallur as he is acknowledged several times in Kamban’s works. Growing up within a temple environment would have aided his learning of Hindu scriptures and contributed to his expertise in both Sanskrit and Tamizh. It has been mentioned that Kamban’s father, Athavan was a priest, although some claim that he was a temple drummer. The are many popular stories about how Kamban got his name.
In any event, Kamban belongs to the third great wave of Tamizh literature that started with the Sangam period (dated before the Common Era), followed by the widespread impact of Bhakti literature of the Alwars and Nayanmars between the 6th-9th century CE (noting that many trace the start of the Alwars to a few thousand years ago or to the early part of the 1st millennium). A 9 th century birth may locate Kamban after Adi Sankara and before Sri Ramanujacharya, while the latter date places him after the two great Acharyas. Multiple scholars and historians place him in the 9 th century CE, while others trace Kamban to the 12 th-13 th century CE. Kamban was born in Thiruvazhundur in the Thanjavur area of the Chola kingdom.
Īfter having the privilege of publishing this sublime essay on Andal Devi, it is only appropriate to devote this post to Kamban, the emperor of poetry and devotee of Nammalwar.