He said these statues would be replaced with those of Alwars and Nayanars, essentially saint poets and devotees of Lord Shiva and those of Tamil scholars and freedom fighters. Although Annamalai ...

There were two major streams—the Nayanars, devotees of Shiva, and the Alvars, devotees of Vishnu. The famous Nataraja statues of Shiva were made during the Chola period under the inspiration of ...