[4] Peers and the generations that followed him called him "Tampiran Tolan", which means "intimate companion, dedicated friend of the lord [Shiva]".

[6] The Tevaram hymns compositions of Sundarar are a source of biographical information about him, as are the hagiographic texts written about him few centuries after he died.

However, as the wedding party approached the local Shiva temple, states the traditional legend, an old man mysteriously appears and produces a palm leaf document.

A court of elders then reviews the document and finds it authentic, demands Sundarar to serve the petitioner, who then mysteriously vanishes in the Shiva shrine.

[7][8] Sundarar began his first poem (Tevaram VII.1.1) by addressing Shiva as Pittaa pirai chudi.. meaning O mad man..:[8][9][10] O madman with the moon-crowned hair, God of grace, O Lord, how can I forget you?

[5] With the help of Shiva, this leads to Sundarar's second marriage, but only after his wedding vows include the promise of never leaving Cankali and Thiruvottriyur.

This is embedded symbolism to inspire regional kings and wealthy patrons to support the spiritual and charitable works at Shiva temples.

Nambi found the scripts in the form of cadijam leaves half eaten by white ants in a chamber inside the second precinct in Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram.

[20] For example, at the end of hymn VII.54:[21] Those who know these ten verses that Uran, the Rude Devotee, chanter of the four Vedas and sacred texts, praised by the world, very pious young man, has sung on the dear one, who dwells at the shrine in wave-washed Orriyur, will surely reach the highest state.

[22][23] According to John Cort – a scholar of Jainism and Hinduism studies, the Agamic temple rituals perpetuate the Vedic practices.

According to the Nayanars, the Vedic and the Agamic overlap, are alternate roads to the same spiritual end, both evoke a transformation in the devotee, with the difference that temple-based Saiva puja alone is emphasized.

Odhuvars, Sthanikars, or Kattalaiyars offer musical programmes in Shiva temples of Tamil Nadu by singing Tevaram after the daily rituals.

[25] The singers of these hymns were referred as Tirupadiyam Vinnapam seyvar or Pidarar, from the inscriptions of Nandivarman III in the Tiruvallam Bilavaneswara temple records.

[26] More recent English translations of many more select hymns by Sundarar have been published by Indira Peterson,[27] and David Shulman.

[28] Sundarar's pilgrimage to Shiva temples and his efforts helped expand the Shaiva sacred geography in Tamil Nadu.

Like Sambandar and Appar, Sundarar's hymns have been helpful in identifying and dating many of the old Shiva temples found in Tamil Nadu.