The novel of Kalki Krishnamurthy, Sivakamiyin Sabatham, set in the reign of Pallava King Mahendravarman and his son Narasimhavarman I, begins with the journey of two important characters to Kancheepuram: Naga Nandhi, the Buddhist monk, and Paranjothi, a youth, who would later secure fame as the general of the Pallava army that vanquished the Chalukyas and gutted their capital Vatapi (642 AD). Paranjothi is also known as Siruthondar, one of the 63 Saivaite saints.
Paranjothi, a native of Tiruchengattankudi, an abode of Lord Siva, is praised in the hymns of Saivaite minstrels. Kalki Krishnamurthy describes him as a mischievous youth a constant worry to his widowed mother. Her efforts to educate him failed and he decided to go to Kancheepuram to study at the Mutt of Thirunavukkarasar, the Saivite saint, after repenting for the troubles he had caused to his mother. It was during the journey on a single narrow road to Kancheepuram that he met Naga Nandhi and later became a great warrior and close aide of Narasimhavarman I.
