Four Saiva Saints Sambandar, Appar, Sundarar, and Manikkavacakar are specially remembered as the four teachers of the Saiva religion.  They revived and re-established the religious practices, especially the Temple worship, among the common mass and were influential leaders, at a time when TamilNadu came to be gripped under the influence of the ascetic missionaries of Jainism  and Buddhism.  They reclaimed the people and brought them back to the Saiva fold.  The first two were contemporaries and they lived the life divine during the middle of the 7th Century.  Sundarar of the eighth century followed the foot-steps of these two teachers, established the religion on historical grounds by singing the unique hymn known as Tiruttonda-t-tokai and extended his services to the western parts of the Tamil land as well.

    The unique work of Saint Manikkavacakar, Tiruvacakam, forms part of the 8th book of Saiva-t-Tirumuraikal.  It is a classic work of international fame, well known for its depth of devotion, religious insight and spiritual experience.  Another work of Saint Manikkavacakar is Tiruccirrambalakkovaiyar, which forms the latter part of the 8th book.  It is a great work of inimitable poetic beauty on the topic of love in its purest form, depicting its various stages.  The work consists of 400 stanzas reflecting not only the idealised secular love, but also the love of the individual self for the divine which brings out the divine mercy and coalesce with it, resulting in divine bliss.  It is described by Saint Kumaraguruparar of the Dharmapuram Adheenam, 'a literary piece of divine illumination saturated with earthly love (Kamam canra Jnana-p-panuval)'.

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