The Colas c12.93

c12.93

From all accounts, Hinduism was the dominant religion in the Tamil country in this period. Within its spacious fold were worshipped all the gods of an extensive and eclectic pantheon ranging from the Great God with an eye on his forehead to the little demon (*bhūtam*) of the cross-roads.¹³³ Four divinities seem to have occupied a more distinguished position than the rest,¹³⁴ and they were Śiva who is often placed at the head of the pantheon, Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa who are frequently described together, and Murugan, apparently the favourite deity of the Tamils. The worship of Murugan embodied some indigenous features like the *vēlanāḍal*. Indra came in also for special worship as on the occasion of the festival held in Puhār in his honour. That music and dance were from early times closely intertwined with religious rites is seen from the descriptions in the *Śilappadikāram* of the more or less primitive worship of *Korṟavai* by *vēṭṭuvar*, of Kṛṣṇa (Kaṇṇan) by shepherdesses and of Murugan by *Kuravas*. A temple of Saraswati is mentioned in the *Maṇimēkalai*,¹³⁵ which also alludes to the presence of *kāpālikas*.¹³⁶ If the author of the *Kaḷavaḷi* was the same as the Vaiṣṇava saint Poygaiyār who is counted among the three earliest *aḻvārs*, then we shall have to trace to this period also the beginnings of the bhakti cult of the Vaiṣṇavas, and there is nothing improbable in this. The *Maṇimēkalai* appears to mention even the *Viṣṇupurāṇa*.¹³⁷