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This thesis is a critical study of early Tamil Saiva bhakti literature: Paripatal, Tirumurukarruppatai and the Tevaram. The thesis begins with a brief survey of the extant sources for the study of these works. This is followed in the Second Chapter by a detailed analyssis of Pari. and TMP. Here a general assessment of the extent of the influence of the 'Aryan' god Skanda on the 'Tamil' god Murukan is made. Some important references to Murukan which are found in cankam literature are also used in this analysis. Special reference is made to Tevaram, and this is discussed jln Charters Three to Seven. In Chapter Three, an attempt is nada to enumerate Siva shrines and estimate the extent of Siva worship in the Tamil country during the Tevaram period. This is followed by the analysis of akam hymns in the Tevaram in Chapter Four basei on the conventions observed in early love poetry. The significance of the common hymns in the Sixth Chapter and the critical analysis of the 'last verses' in Chapter Seven help to a great extent in making a comparative study of the work of the three saints, and explo img salient features of Saivism. The Fifth Chapter deals with illusions to puranic stories. Many of the detailed conclusions of this thesis are contained in the chapter on Pari. and TMP, and the ones on Tevaram the last chapter consists of general conclusions about these works.
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