༤ ༤ ༢ Xi ĦĪ First, he may have been a saivite by religion; * second, he was a very good student of the classics like Tolkāppiam and Tirukkuzal; third, he lived amidst the realities of the epoch in which the ideals of marriage portrayed in Akam works were not mere figments of poetic imagination, but integral aspects of the social situation. From these the authorship may be guessed as associable with a great poet, possibly one who is already known by name through his other works. A comparison of the style of this work with some of the Cañkara works is one way of identifying the author. But no one has so far attempted this kind of identification. Sri N. Sethuraghunathan, however, would see similarities between the characteristics of Nakkiratēva Nāyanār's poetry and those of the Muttoilà yiram in his very learned discussion of this question of authorship. He leads us to the belief that Nakkiratêva Nāyanār might himself have been the author of Mattoslayiram, Nakkiratēva Nayanār was the author of Kailaspati Antadi-Kalaitipáti Antadi and Tiru-iyńköymalai Elupatia. The learned scholar thinks that Nakkiratēva Nāyanār's genius shows itself to a little extent in these two small works and the Muttollayiran must have been the fruit of his maturity.” We have nothing to say against the logic of the scholar's discussion. As he has stated, it is not uncommon for poets in their mature major works to write elaborately on themes which they have handled in a perfunctory manner in their minor works, But it is not scientific to identify the author of a major work purely by the identity of thinking and verbal expression. The parallelisms between the Muitollāyiram and the minor works of Nakkiratēva Nāyanār in thought and expression cannot be matters of dispute. But Nakkiratēva Náyanār who was a latterday worthy might have been deeply influenced by the Mutiollayiram and the identity referred to above must have been the product of such influence. 12. Verse—3. 13. Aiwitchläyirgii. (Sri N. Sethuraghunatban's edition) --Introduction р, 22. Ak
