In his relation to man, his guilelessness is a remarkable feature. Harshness of language is unknown to the Nambutiris, and it is commonly said that the severest expression of his resentment at an insult offered is generally that he (the Nambutiri) expects the adversary to take back the insult a hundred times over. Of course, the modern Nambutiri is not the unadulterated specimen of goodness, purity, and piety that he once was. But, on the whole, the Nambutiris form an interesting community, whose existence is indeed a treasure untold to all lovers of antiquity. Their present economic condition is, however, far from re-assuring. They are no doubt the traditional owners of Kerala, and hold in their hands the janmom or proprietary interest in a large portion of Malabar. But their woeful want of accommodativeness to the altered conditions of present day life threatens to be their ruin. Their simplicity and absence of business-like habits have made them a prey to intrigue, fraudulence, and grievous neglect, and an unencumbered and well ordered estate is a rarity among Malabar Brahmans, at least in Travancore." The orthodox view of the Nambutiri is thus stated in an official document of Travancore. "His person is holy; his directions are commands; his movements are a procession; his meal is nectar; he is the holiest of human beings; he is the representative of god on earth." It may be noted that the priest at the temple of Badrinath in Gurhwal, which is said to have been established by Sankaracharya, and at the temple at Tiruvettiyur, eight miles north of Madras, must be a Nambutiri. The birth-place of Sankara has been located in a small village named Kaladi in Travancore. It is stated by Mr. Subramani Aiyar that "at some part of his eventful life, Sankara is believed to have returned to his native village, to do the last offices to his mother. Every assistance was withdrawn, and he became so helpless that he had to throw aside the orthodox ceremonials of cremation, which he could not get his relations to help him in, made a sacrificial pit in his garden, and there consigned his mother's mortal remains. The compound (garden) can still be seen on the banks of the Periyar river on the Travancore side, with a masonry wall enclosing the crematorium, and embowered by a thick grove of trees."