Unknown Shaivite saint; Chola period; Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India; 11th century; Copper; 58.4 x 19.7 cm. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

A group of sixty-three Shaivite poet-saints in Tamil Nadu between the third to eighth century CE. Belonging to diverse castes, their devotional poetry was written and sung in praise of Shiva and propelled Bhakti devotional practices. Some of their hymns have been compiled in a twelve-volume collection called Tirumurai.