At the mountains, Tamil was created by Agastya, according to Kamban and Villiputturar, while Kancipuranam and Tiruvilaiyatarpuranam assert Lord Shiva taught Agastya Tamil just as he had taught Panini Sanskrit. Tamil Hindu tradition holds that Lord Shiva and Lord Murugan taught Agastya the Tamil language, who then constructed a Tamil grammar, at Pothigai mountains. According to the Tambraparni Mahatmyam, an ancient account of the river from its rise to its mouth, a string of red lotus flowers from sage Agastya at Agastya Malai, Pothigai hills, transformed itself into a damsel at the sight of Lord Siva, forming the river at the source and giving it its divine name, Tamraparni. The shrine to Agastiyar at the Pothigai hill source of the Tamraparni river is mentioned in both Ilango Adigal's Silappatikaram and Chithalai Chathanar's Manimekhalai epics, in relation to blessings sought by Sugriva and his army from the Ramayana.