India is well-reputed for its literature and grammar from very early times both in Tamil and Sanskrit.  In the north there is mount Kalias where Lord Shiva is supposed to reside permanently with His spouse, Uma, the divine wisdom personified.  In the South there is what is called Podiyil, the abode of Agastiyar the Tamil sage, who is the very equal of Lord Siva because of his union with Him.

There lived some two hundred years ago, in a small town named Vikrama Singapuram, in Pandi nadu in the South, a happy couple of the names Ananada-k-kuttar and Mayilammaiyar of the Saiva Vellar community.  The place is very near the well known sacred town Pavanasam, on the slopes of podiyil.  The family of the couple is reported to be blessed with a boon from the sage Agastiyar that it will have, belonging to it, scholars gifted with a child, Mukkalalinga, so that the Saiva Religious tradition might flourish as a result of the penance and meritorious deeds of Tamil land.

The dutiful parents paid utmost care in rearing the child, healthy, wealthy and wise.  When the child was five years of age, he was sent to the traditional school. One day when the child was returning home for midday meal, he sighted some Tampirans of Tiruvavaduturai math who were clad in brownish red cloths, and invited them to his house to have their meals.  At that time his father was absent.  But the mother appreciated the religious feelings of her child and treated the monks with due veneration and sent them back on their pilgrimage.  Ananda-k-kuttar on knowing the religious wisdom of his young son, appreciated him.  The child expressed a desire to accompany monks, and the parents respected the feelings of the child, and were glad to send Mukkalalingar along with the monks of the Adhinam.  His intention was that he should learn the spiritual wisdom by joining the religious order of the Saiva-adhinam and be of service to the religious community of the South.  It should be imagined how the religious parents would have felt being caught up between the horns of dilemma and how their religious sense of duty got the upper hand.