Vagish ("Lord of Speech") is Saint Appar's epithet, expressing the strength of
his religious lyrics.
It is also a title given to a person who expresses similar aptitude and abilities there of.
Appar was one of the first of the Nayanars, a group of
sixty-three southern Indian poet-saints who were Shiva followers (bhakta) in
the seventh and eighth centuries.
See Appar.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
Tirunavukkarashu Appar ("father") (7th century) was
the given name of the Nayanar poet-saint who was most generally referred to as
Appar.
Appar was one of the first of the Nayanars, a group of
sixty-three southern Indian poet-saints who lived in the seventh and eighth
centuries and were devotees (bhakta) of the deity Shiva.
The Nayanars, along with their contemporaries the Alvars,
who were Vishnu followers, were instrumental in the renewal of Hindu religion
by their fervent devotion (bhakti) to a personal deity, which they expressed
through songs sung in Tamil.
(8th century) The
last of the Nayanars, a group of sixty-three poet-saints from southern India
who were Shiva worshippers (bhakta).
The Nayanars, along with their contemporaries the Alvars,
who were Vishnu worshipers, drove the revival of Hindu religion by their
fervent devotion (bhakti) to a personal deity, which they expressed through
songs sung in Tamil.
Sundaramurtti, like his forefathers Appar and Sambandar,
actively opposed the heterodox sects of the time, particularly the Jains, whom
he despises in his poems.
The Devaram, the most sacred of the Tamil Shaivite texts, is
composed of the hymns of the three most important Nayanars—Appar, Sambandar,
and Sundaramurtti.
Sundaramurtti's inventory of the sixty-three Nayanars is
significant since it is the earliest written source for Tamil Shaivite
hagiography.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.
(r. 600–630) During
the Pallava dynasty, when southern India was a bastion of Tamil culture, he was
the ruler.
Mahendravarman was born a Jain, but under the influence of
the poet-saint Appar, he became a devotee (bhakta) of the deity Shiva.
Mahendravarman was a learned man who supported the arts and
was the creator of the famous drama Mattvavilasa ("Sport of
Drunkards") in southern India.
During his reign, the rock-cut temples of Mahabalipuram were
constructed.
He clashed with the neighboring monarchs, particularly the
Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, and was killed in a fight with Pulakeshin's army.
You may also want to read more about Hinduism here.
Be sure to check out my writings on religion here.