Nambi Aandaar Nambi had a vision that night. The king approached Nambi Aandaar Nambi requesting him to help him trace the hymns composed by the Shivacharyas.
Nambi Aandaar Nambi was a great scholar and Vinayaka (Ganesh) Bhakta. He consulted his ministers who advised him to call on Nambi Aandaar Nambi who lived in a place called Thirunaavaloor in Thanjavur District. Unfortunately it contained only a very few - spanning about 21 ragas. She had with her some old palm scripts of Thiru Neelakanta Yazhpaanar handed down to her through several generations. Raja Raja tracked down the family tree of Thiru Neelakanta Yazhpaanar with great difficulty (remember more than 400 years had elapsed!) and was able to get in touch with a very old lady who belonged to Yaazhpanar's clan. Raja Raja Chola then took on the task of compiling these hymns and popularizing them amongst the masses. Neelakanta Yazhpaanar was a great Vainika (Veena Player) and a much-respected Shivacharya. While not much was known about the notation of music in the case of others, the Maharaja learnt that the music for Sri Gnana Samandhar verses were composed by a Shaivaite musician named Thiru Neelakanta Yazhpaanar who was with Sri Samandhar most of the time.
He soon learnt these were parts of the Divine poetry written by the 4 great Sivacharyas of Tamizh Nadu - Sri (Thiru)Gnana Samandhar, Thirunavukarasar (popularly known as Appar), Sundarar and Manickavachakar.Īll of them lived about 400 years before Raja Raja Chola - (i.e.) about 1400 years from today!
The Saivaite Emperor then started making enquiries about the source of the hymns. The Raja was greatly fascinated by the quality of the language, the choice of the tune and the devotion it aroused. During one of his visits to the famous Thiruvaaroor temple in Thanjavur District, he heard a few people singing some hymns on Lord Lord Shiva.
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