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songs in Tamil in praise of Siva. The first of the Ten Verses (Padikam) begins with ‘Kootrayinavaru'. His stomach ache ceased immediately. That is why there is a belief that whoever recites these songs gets relief from all illness.
After that, he took up Sannyasa and went on a pilgrimage singing his Padikams (containing 10 verses each). In due course he reached Chidambaram. After worshipping Nataraja there, and singing the Padikams, he went with his followers to nearby Sirkali. He had heard that Sambandar had become a saint by drinking the milk of the mother of the universe, Parvati, when he was a little child. Hearing that he was coming, Sambandar with his followers went out to meet him. As soon as they met, Marul Neekkiyar fell at the feet of Sambandar. The latter lifted him up with his hands with great affection, and as a show of respect, called him ‘Appah'. Appar immediately claimed that he was the Dasan (servant) of Sambandar. From that time onwards, Marul Neekkiyar came to be known as Appar. Subsequently both of them went together to the temple of Brahmapureeswara. Sambandar then asked Appar to worship the Lord, which Appar did with his Padikams. After that, they went together to several temples and sang Padikams in praise of the Lord. You have already heard of Vedaranyam and the sovereigns. There are several other stories like that. After his contact with Appar, Sambandar went to Patalipuram, defeated the people of Samana Mutt by arguments and established Saivism. They always used to be together.
