The early records of the town are rooted to epic rather than history. The city's original name, Thiruvallikeni, finds various mentions in the Nalayira Divya Prabandham, which are a collection of hymns by earlier poets that were compiled in the ninth century. One such poet, Thirumangai Alvar, described Thiruvallikeni as a densely canopied forest with peacocks and koels, where the sun's rays could not penetrate. Another poet, Peyalwar, describes Thiruvallikeni as, "by the tossing sea... where corals and pearls washed ashore liken the evening sky and the lamps they light of dusk."
