the 20th century tamil writers came up with various theories to explain the etymology of "kumari kandam" or "kumari nadu". one set of claims was centered on the purported gender egalitarianism in the prelapsarian tamil homeland. for example, m. arunachalam (1944) claimed that the land was ruled by female rulers ("kumari"s). d. savariroyan pillai stated that the women of the land had the right to choose their husbands and owned all the property, because of which the land came to be known as "kumari nadu" ("the land of the maiden"). yet another set of claims was centered on the hindu goddess kanya kumari. kandiah pillai, in a book for children, fashioned a new history for the goddess, stating that the land was named after her. he claimed that the temple at kanyakumari was established by those who survived the flood that submerged kumari kandam. according to cultural historian sumathi ramaswamy, the emphasis of the tamil writers on the word "kumari" (meaning virgin or maiden) symbolizes the purity of tamil language and culture, before their contacts with the other ethnic groups such as the indo-aryans.