Sambandar

Sambandar, also called Tirujnana Sambandar, was a Tamil Shaiva saint and poet counted among the four acaryas of the Samaya school of Shaivism, together with Appar, Sundaramurti and Manikkavacakar. The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism describes him as a much younger contemporary of Appar, and records that when the two met Sambandar was hardly seven years old. They became fast friends and mutual admirers. It was Sambandar who gave the saint Tirunavukkarasar the title Appar, which means father, and the two are remembered together among the Shaiva saints of South India whose devotion renewed the religious life of their tradition. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions adds that Tamil Shaivas regard the hymns of Sambandar, Sundaramurti and Appar as equal in worth to the Vedas and that they are gathered in the Tevaram.