been lost long before the tenth or eleventh century.
The only authors of this period about whom any account, however scanty it might be, can be extracted from Tamil literature are Agastya and Murinjiyur Mudinagarayar. The rest of the members seem to be half mythical persons. The life of Agastya is clothed in myth ; but this much is certain that he was a Brahman of North India and that he led the first colony of Brahmans which settled in the Tamil districts. According to another tradition he was a member of the Sanskrit academy at Benares, which was presided over by Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedas, and, after quarrelling with his colleagues there, he wended his way down to the Tamil country and established the first Tamil Academy at Madura. It is said that the Tamil language is indebted to him for its grammar. He was the first to introduce the worship of Siva and the science of medicine among the South Indian Dravidians. Though most of the Tamil works now existing on chemistry, physiology and medicine which are commonly attributed to him are pure forgeries, he might have been acquainted with the art of medicine and the first Rishi to teach it to the Tamil nation.
He is said to have had twelve students, namely, Tolkapyan, Athangottasan, Duralingan, Semputchay, Vaiyapikan, Vayppiyan, Panambaran, Kalaramban, Avinayan, Kakkapatiniyan, Natrattan and Vamanan. It is believed that they specialized their studies and
