Explanation: There was also growth in literature of general parlance languages along with Sanskrit during this period.

• Several Alvars (devotees of Vishnu) and Nayannars (devotees of Shiva) flourished in the Tamilakham between the 6th and 9th centuries who composed a lot in Tamil and other regional languages.
• The writings of these saints have been collected into 11 volumes under the name Tirumurais in the early 12th century and were so sacred that they were deemed the Fifth Veda.

Source: Tamil Nadu NCERT