In his work "Saasana Tamizhk Kavi Charitam", Rao Saheb M. Raghava Iyengar has given a detailed account of his researches, with appropriate authorities, based on certain Sanskrit works and inscriptions around Tiruvannamalai which reveal many interesting facts about the early life of Arunagiri. The salient features of his research may be summarized as follows:

It is almost an accepted fact that Arunagiri belonged to the time of Villiputturar, the author of the Tamil Mahabharatam. Villiputturar lived during the same time as the Irattaiyar (the twin-poets) whose period is the middle of the 14th century.

Arunagiri, in his Tiruppugazh, refers to two persons, --- (1) a king who ruled during his time, as Pravudadeva Maharaja; and (2) the head of a Mutt, as Somanathan. Based on Arunagiri's description of the political condition prevailing then, it can be assumed that the king referred to by him should be Pravudadeva Raya II who ruled during the earlier part of the 15th century. As regards the time of Somanathan, he is believed to have lived about 1370 A.D., based on an inscription in the wall of the Siva Temple at Puttur. It is also ascertainable that the said Somanathan was one of the foremost among the Sivacharyas, -- learned Vidvans and Gowda-Brahmins, -- who came from North India and settled in Mullandiram and Devikapuram sometime earlier. Considering the above data, the author concludes that Arunagiri's time should be between that of Pravudadeva and Somanathan, i.e., between the close of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th century.

From other inscriptions it is learnt that from amongst these Gowda Brahmin scholars and Pandits, some were talented Sanskrit poets and were called as "Dindima Kavis". Historians*4 hold that our Arunagiri is a descendant of these Dindima Kavis and he is himself referred to as such in one of the Sanskrit works of his posterior, entitled Saluvabhyudayam, who says that his father, Arunagirinathar by name, was a "Sarva-Bhauma Dindima Kavi", an "Ashtabhasha Paramesvara", a past master in composing Chitra Prabandha, and one greatly revered by the three Tamil kings, - Chera, Chola and Pandya. Sri Raghava Iyengar proves, from internal evidences and coincidence of time, place, etc., that the Arunagirinathar referred to in the above Sanskrit work is our Arunagiri, the author of Tiruppugazh and other works.

Further, there is an inscription of 1550 A.D. in the Siva temple of Mullandiram which records the gift of a piece of land by a Brahmin lady to erect a small altar _____________________________________________________________________________________________ *4 Most prominent among them being the late Sri T.A. Gopinatha Rao who has published a lengthy article in the 'Indian Antiquary' of 1918.

to 'Annamalai Natha' inside that Siva temple. This lady is said to be a descendant of the Dindima Kavi Annamalai Natha. It is believed that the Annamalai Natha in whose memory the altar was built is our Arunagiri, because Arunagiri, being a divine-inspired poet and saintly soul of an extraordinary calibre, became so famous that many temples came to be dedicated to him and one of his descendants donated for one such in his very birth place, Mullandiram. From all these it is proved and held that Arunagiri belonged to a Brahmin family of Mullandiram near Tiruvannamalai.

One objection to this view is: though Arunagiri is referred to as Dindima Kavi, etc. in the Sanskrit work of his son (to which facts there are corresponding internal evidences in the works of Arunagiri), Arunagiri's greatness was not so much due to these factors but was due to his extraordinary devotion to Lord Murugan and his innumerable compositions of Tiruppugazh songs, to which there is no mention in the Sanskrit work. This objection does not seem to be a serious one because when a person is referred to, all aspects of his life need not necessarily be mentioned. So long as the facts mentioned about Arunagiri in the Sanskrit works do not contradict any of the facts available about him, it can be safely taken as authentic, for no description of a person can be complete. That he was an expert in composing as a Chitra Kavi, that he was a Dindima Kavi and that he was revered and worshipped by the three kings, -- all which are fully relevant to Arunagiri, -- are facts which can be substantiated from his Tiruppugazh and other works. Again, if all these do not refer to our Arunagiri, who is he that is referred to by these? There seems to be no one else of that period to whom all these can be attributed. To simply say that these do not refer to our Arunagiri would be a meaningless objection unless the existence of another person to whom these refer can be proved. It cannot be that someone else was, who was such a great poet as to be called as Dindima Kavi, expert in composing poems as a Chitra Kavi and worshipped by the great Tamil kings and yet whose name or life-history or any of his works is not available on record. If these were really to refer to such a great person other than Arunagiri, something about him or at least some of his works must be available for reference, somewhere. Hence, in the absence of any such thing as this, these details may be taken, in all probability, to refer to Arunagiri, the author of Tiruppugazh and other works, and it can be safely regarded as such.