The Life
Kalikkama, born a Vellala in Thiruperumangalam in the Kaveri country, was commander-in-chief of the Chola army and a fervent servant of Shiva, honoured by the Eyar clan as their chief. When he heard that Sundarar had sent Lord Shiva Himself as a go-between to settle a quarrel with his wife, Kalikkama was outraged that anyone should treat the Lord as an errand-runner, and vowed never to meet Sundarar. To reconcile the two devotees, Shiva afflicted Kalikkama with an agonising colic and revealed that only Sundarar's touch could cure it. Refusing help from one he judged irreverent, Kalikkama cut open his own stomach and died. Arriving to find him dead, the grief-stricken Sundarar prepared to end his own life; Shiva then restored Kalikkama, who rose to stop Sundarar, and the two became firm friends.