Arivattaya Nayanar history

There once lived in Kannamangalam in the Chola kingdom a rich Vellala by name Thayanar. He was leading the life of an ideal Grihastha (householder) of whom the saint Tiruvalluvar has sung

“He will be placed among the gods in heaven who in this world follows the law of the householder’s life”.

 

Thayanar was a great devotee of Lord Siva. His devotion took the form of a daily offering to the Lord of food prepared with red rice, a sauce made of red herb, and mango pickle. He considered this as an act of great devotion to the Lord. The Lord was highly pleased with Thayanar’s devotion. He wanted to put it to the test, in order to manifest it to the world in all its glory. By His Will, poverty struck Thayanar. Thayanar got himself employed and earned his wages in kind (red rice). He himself would not eat this red rice, but lived on the inferior khar rice. The Lord tested him further. All the fields in the place grew only red rice. But, Thayanar would not touch it. His wife cooked for him some green leaves from their garden. Thayanar was content and was intent on his usual offering to the Lord. The Lord put His devotee through more severe tests. Even the green leaves withered away and there was nothing left. Thayanar was not at all perturbed. He happily lived on mere water his mind was full of the bliss of the worship of the Lord and he felt neither hunger nor thirst. One day, Thayanar, now emaciated and weak, was taking his usual offering to the Lord, followed by his wife. He stumbled on the way and fell down. The offering he had, was spilt on the ground. Thayanar was greatly upset. He began to weep bitterly “Oh Lord, today the food intended for You has been spilt on the ground. What great sin have I committed to deserve this? Please forgive me. Have mercy on this poor creature. You are omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. If this is true, You must be present here also. Kindly come and accept the offering here. If You do not eat this, I will give up my life.”With these words, he began to cut his throat with an Arival (sickle). Hence, the name Arivattaya Nayanar.

Lord Siva was highly pleased with his devotion. His Leela was over. He at once stretched His hand and caught hold of Nayanar’s, thus preventing him from cutting his own throat. Nayanar did not realise what was happening. At that time, he heard the sound of someone biting a mango pickle. He understood the Lord’s Leela, sang His glories and danced. The Lord and Mother Parvathi appeared before him and blessed him “Oh noble soul, I am immensely pleased with your devotion. You and your chaste wife will soon come to My Abode and live happily there.”

Manakanchara Nayanar History

Kancharur was a fertile place in the Chola kingdom. The people were all Siva Bhaktas. In this place there lived a staunch devotee of Lord Siva by name Manakancharanar. He was a Vellala by caste. He was a hereditary Senathipathi. People of the community had the highest regard for him. He was a contemporary of Sundaramurthi Nayanar. To him adoration of Siva Bhaktas was the highest form of worship of the Lord. He would read their minds from their look, and would serve them without their asking.

He had no children for a long time. He worshipped Siva with faith and devotion and obtained the boon of a daughter from Him. Nayanar celebrated the birth of this divine child, with a lot of charity. In due time, the girl attained the marriageable age. She was engaged to be married to Eyarkon Kalikamar who was also an earnest and sincere devotee of the Lord. The date of the wedding had been fixed and all arrangements made.

In the mean time, Lord Siva wanted to shower His supreme grace on the Nayanar. He took the form of a Maha-Vrathiar (man of great vow) who wears the sacred ash on his forehead, matted locks adorned with a garland of bones, and a sacred thread made of human hair on his chest. The Maha-Vrathiar appeared before Manakancharanar who received him with great delight. When the ascetic enquired about the cause of the festive appearance of the house, Nayanar explained that his daughter was to wed that clay. He asked the girl to bow to the ascetic and receive his blessings. The ascetic saw her flowing hair, and said “Oh noble soul, I am delighted to see her hair. This can be conveniently made into a Panchavati (the thread that adorns my chest).”At once, Nayanar took a knife and, without thinking for a moment, cut the hair on his daughter’s head and handed it to the ascetic. In his extreme devotion to the Siva Yogi, he did not even consider the fact that he was disfiguring his only daughter, and that the bridegroom might refuse to accept her. The Lord in the form of the ascetic immediately disappeared. He gave Nayanar and his family Darshanam along with Mother Parvathy and blessed them.

Eyarkon Kalikamar, the bridegroom, and his party arrived there soon after, and came to know of all that had happened. He was sorry that he had not come earlier and had the Lord’s Darshan. When he saw the disfigured bride and hesitated to accept her, Lord Siva, the Indweller, understood the cause, and restored the hair to her head. Nayanar and his family were very happy and proceeded with the wedding.

Kungiliya Kalaya Nayanar History

Kungiliya Kalaya Nayanar was born in Tirukadavur in the Chola kingdom. The Lord of this place is called Amirda Ghateswarar. Once Devas and Asuras came to this place with nectar in a pot. They wanted to take bath. So, they left the pot on the ground and went to the river. When they came back to the place, they could not lift the pot. The pot itself had been transformed into a Lingam. Hence this Lingam is known as Amrita Lingam. Markandeya worshipped this Lingam and became an immortal boy of 16 years.

The Goddess in this place is called Abhirami Amman. Abhirami Pattar, a great devotee of Mother, sang beautiful songs in praise of her and the Mother Who was highly pleased with this, changed the new moon day into a full moon day, in order to save him from the king’s wrath.

Kungiliya Kalaya Nayanar was a Brahmin by caste He got the name because he was always holding a pot in his hand. He considered burning of incense before the Lord was the best service to Him. Lord Siva was highly pleased with the Nayanar’s intense devotion and his wonderful service. He wanted to put it to test, so that the true glory of his supreme devotion to the Lord may be understood by all.

By the will of Lord Siva, Nayanar became poor suddenly. He sold all his property. His family was starving. Still, he continued to burn incense before the Lord. One day his dutiful wife thought “Everything has been sold. Only this Mangalyam is left. I will give it to my Lord though it is inauspicious to do so. Let him sell it and obtain some rice, with which we could feed the children who may die of hunger otherwise.”She removed the Mangalyam and gave it to her husband, who gladly received it. As he was proceeding to the market to sell it, Lord Siva Himself appeared before him, in the guise of a hawker and said that he had very good incense. The word incense at once made Nayanar forget himself and the mission! He quickly bought incense for the price of the Mangalyam, and went to the temple to burn it before the Lord.

His wife patiently waited for his return, and, not finding him even after nightfall, put the children to bed and remained praying. The Lord was immensely pleased with this noble couple. The faithful wife was prepared to part with even the most sacred ornament for the service of her lord, her husband. That night Lord Siva appeared in her dream and blessed her with all wealth.

She woke up from her sleep and was amazed to find all types of wealth in the house. She sang His glories. Immediately she prepared a nice meal and was waiting for her lord’s return.

After blessing the Nayanar’s wife, thus, Lord Siva appeared before Nayanar in the temple and said “Oh noble soul, I am immensely pleased with your devotion. Your dutiful wife is anxiously waiting for you in the house with milk and food. Kindly go to your house.”It was only then that Nayanar became aware of this world! He returned to the house and found that it had been transformed into a heaven, by the grace of the Lord. Siva Bhaktas, too, had assembled in the house in large numbers. They all sang the glories of the Lord. The Nayanar treated the wealth that the Lord had bestowed upon him as the property of Siva Bhaktas and served them.

One day Nayanar wanted to visit the temple at Tiruppanandal. The Lord of this temple is Arunasatesar. Thatakai was the daughter of an Asura. For getting a son, she worshipped the Siva Lingam regularly. One day at the end of the worship, she wanted to garland the Lingam. As she lifted the garland with both her hands, her cloth began to slip from her waist. She held it with her elbows, and hence could not raise her hands (and the garland) high enough. To relieve her, the Lord leaned to one side and accepted the garland. Many people tried to pull the Lingam straight but it could not be done. Nayanar heard that the king of the place was upset about it and wanted the Lingam to be straightened. Nayanar wanted to help the king. He tied the Lingam to his neck with a rope (the rope of God-love) and gently pulled it. The Lingam became upright! Devas rained flowers from heaven. All were amazed and recognised the glory of the Nayanar and his great devotion to the Lord.

After spending some more time in the service of Lord Siva and His Bhaktas, Nayanar reached His Abode.

Kannappa Nayanar History

Nagan was the king of hunters at Uduppur in Pottapi Nadu. His wife was Tattai. They were great devotees of Lord Subramanya. By His grace, they had a child, after a long time. It was very heavy so, they named him Tinnanar.

Tinnanar was Arjuna in the previous birth, according to Tiru Kalahasthi Puranam. When he went to worship Siva, to get Pasupatha Astra, and when the Lord came to him as a hunter, Arjuna did not recognize Him. So, he had to be born as a hunter again and adore the Lord, before attaining Final Liberation.

Tinnanar was educated according to the hunters”customs. He became a good archer. Even when he was young, his father retired, and crowned him king. Though he was a hunter and carried on hunting as his Dharma, Tinnanar was full of love and would not kill young ones, females, diseased animals, etc. Spiritually, he had already killed the animals within himself, viz., lust, anger, greed, vanity, etc.

One day, Tinnanar went out hunting. A pig escaped from its net and was running away. Tinnanar pursued it accompanied by two others, Nanan and Kadan. The pig was tired and stood near a tree. It was quickly killed by Tinnanar. They were tired, too, and thirsty. They proceeded towards the Ponmukali. Tinnanar wanted to climb the nearby mountain. Nanan, too, volunteered to follow him, saying that on that, the Kalahasthi hill, there was Lord Kudumithevar (God with a Tuft). Kadan was busy cooking the pork.

 Even when he began to climb the hill, there was a definite change coming over Tinnanar, owing to past Samskaras. He felt that a great burden was being lifted off his shoulders. He was losing body-consciousness. As he saw the Lord there, he felt supreme love surging in his heart. He embraced the Lingam and kissed It. He began to shed tears of joy. He felt that the Lord was lonely there, and that he should thenceforth remain with Him. Again, he thought that the Lord might be hungry. Though he was reluctant to leave the Lord alone, he quickly came down the hill to fetch some food for the Lord. He took the best pieces of the pork, tasted them and ear-marked the very best for Him. In the mean time, he gathered from Nanan that the Lord was worshipped daily with water, flowers, etc, before the food was offered to Him. So, he began to collect the other articles of worship. He filled his own mouth with water from the river. Flowers, he gathered and wore them on his head! He took the pork, bow and arrow and went up the hill again, alone this time.

At the temple, Tinnanar poured from his mouth, the water that he had brought for His worship. That was his “Abhishekam”. Then he decorated the Lingam with the flowers he had brought on his own head. This was his “Archana’. He then placed the pork before the Lord. He went out and stood guard for Him, at the entrance, lest some wild animals should hurt Him. In the morning again he went out to hunt and bring fresh food for the Lord.

In the mean time, Nanan and Kadan worried about the change that had come over Tinnanar (which they thought to be madness). They went and reported the matter to Tinnanar’s parents. They came and tried, in vain, to take him back. They, too, went away.

When Tinnanar left the temple in the morning to get food for the Lord, Sivagochariar, the temple priest, came there for the usual orthodox worship. He was horrified at the desecration that some unknown person had done in the temple. He was well versed in the Agamas (rituals of Siva-worship). He performed the necessary purificatory rites and took bath again and began his formal worship. He brought water in a holy pot, with a bandage around his own mouth, lest the breath of his mouth should pollute it. He brought fresh flowers in a holy basket. He brought fruits and sweets, newly made and unpolluted by anyone tasting it, before the Lord for being offered to Him. He went home after the worship.

Tinnanar returned with fresh meat. He removed the priest’s decorations, and did the worship in his own way, and then as usual, stood guard at the entrance.

This went on for five days. The priest was greatly upset about the desecration of the holy place. He appealed to the Lord to stop it. Lord Siva wanted to show to Sivagochariar the nature of Tinnanar’s supreme devotion. He commanded him in a dream, to hide himself behind the Lingam, when Tinnanar went to the temple the next day, and watch what took place.

On the sixth day, Tinnanar went out as usual for getting the Lord’s food. While returning, he saw many ill omens, which made him feel that something had happened to the Lord he was so unconscious of himself, that he did not think that something could happen to him. He ran towards the Lord. He was grieved to see blood issuing from the Lord’s right eye. The articles he had brought for the worship dropped from his hand. He wept bitterly. He could not find who had done this to the Lord. He treated the eye with herbs he knew of. Still the bleeding did not stop. A simple idea occurred to him “flesh for flesh’. At once, with his own arrow, he took out his own right eye, and fixed it over the right eye of the Lord. The bleeding stopped. He was very happy. When he was dancing in ecstasy, he noticed that the Lord’s left eye had begun to bleed. But, he had already found out the remedy. There was only one problem how to locate the eye of the Lord, when his own eye had been pulled out. So, Tinnanar planted his foot at the place where the Lord’s left eye was on the Lingam, and began to pull his left eye out, with his arrow.

At once, Lord Siva caught hold of his hand and said “My dear child, Kannappa! Stop plucking your eye.”The Lord repeated the word Kannappa thrice. Kannappar was thrice blessed. Tinnanar became Kannappar, because he gave his own eye to the Lord. Lord Siva took him with both Hands, and kept him on His right side. Kannappar regained his vision and lived as god himself. Sivagochariar understood the true nature of devotion.

This story has an esoteric meaning, too. Nayanar had conquered all other evils but, Anava Malam or egoism had to be killed, too. The wild pig represents this. Supreme Bhakti dawned, the moment this was killed. In its chase, the seeker is accompanied by good and evil (the two hunters Nanan and Kadan). Nanan (good) described the glory of the Lord to him Nanan represents good Samskaras. Kadan (the evil) had to be left behind. The aspirant with good Samskaras, goes to His Presence. But, when he has to attain God-realisation, even this has to be renounced. Hence, Nayanar, when he went to worship Him, went alone. Nayanar’s parents (the hidden good and evil tendencies and worldly desires) tried but failed to take him away from God. The Lord asked the priest to hide behind Him, while Tinnanar was in front this means, true Bhakti is far superior to mere ritual. Tinnanar’s readiness to pluck out his own eyes for His sake is total self-surrender or Atma-Nivedan, the highest peak of devotion which immediately reveals the Lord in all His glory.

Enadinatha Nayanar history

Enadinatha Nayanar was a toddy tapper. He was born in Eyinanur in Chola Kingdom. It was  of Kumbakonam

Enadinathar was an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. Like Maiporul Nayanar, however, he was devoted even to the external marks of Siva Bhakti. To Enadiar, the three white lines of Vibhuti or sacred ash on one’s forehead were sufficient to evoke his own reverence. 

It would not be out of place here to say a word about this mark on the forehead of devotees of Siva. Through this mark Lord Siva teaches silently that the spiritual aspirant should destroy the three types of impurities, viz., Anavam (I-ness), Karma (selfish activity), and Maya (illusion) the three desires or Eshanas, viz., desire for worldly goods, for son and for wife the three Vasanas or subtle tendencies, viz., Lokavasana (worldliness), Dehavasana (attachment to the body) and Shastravasana (blind faith in the scriptures and polemics), and that he should transcend the three bodies (physical, astral and causal), and the three states, viz., waking, dreaming and deep sleep,—and eventually attain union with Lord. The Shastras assure us that the Bhasma or sacred ash is a divine healer. It cures all diseases, including the disease of birth and death, and bestows on the devotee who wears it, the highest wealth, viz., Moksha.

Such is the glory of the sacred ash and, no wonder Enadiar worshipped whoever came to him with the ash on his forehead. Enadiar saw Lord Siva in him. He was ready to give even his own life at the feet of the devotee who wore the ash.

Enadinatha Nayanar was a very good swordsman. He was a tutor to the princes in fencing. He earned a good income from his profession. He spent all his income in the service of the Siva Bhaktas. He became very popular, too. This evoked the jealousy of another man belonging to the same profession, by name Atisuran. Contrary to his name (which means a great hero), he was not at all skilful and not strong either, because he was full of vices. Yet, he wanted to fight with Enadinathar and defeat him.

One day Atisuran marched towards Enadinathar’s house, with all his relatives, fully armed he hoped to defeat Enadinathar, with the help of his relatives. He stood in front of Enadinathar’s house and challenged him to a fight—jackal coming to fight the lion. Enadinathar accepted the challenge and came forward to fight. Atisuran got frightened. He asked Enadinathar to come to the nearby grove to fight with him. The relatives of Atisuran were waiting in the grove. In the mean time, the friends of Enadinathar had also gathered around him. The two parties fell on each other, and in the terrible fight that ensued many lives were lost. Atisuran ran away from the grove. He wanted to kill Enadinathar, not in open fight (which was impossible), but by strategem.

The next day, he sent a message to Enadinathar “Let us fight again, but without any assistance this time otherwise, many innocent people die on our account. Let us go to a lonely place, without anyone’s knowledge and fight.”Enadinathar accepted it. The next morning, Enadinathar went away secretly and was awaiting Atisuran’s arrival at the stipulated place. Atisuran, with the sacred ashes on his forehead (which was cleverly hidden by his shield) approached Enadinathar. Enadinathar pounced upon him, with a big roar. In a moment, Atisuran removed the shield, revealing the sacred ashes. Enadinathar quickly lowered his sword and thought “What a sin I was about to commit! He has become a Siva Bhakta now. I must not harm him. Let him achieve his object of killing me.”Endinathar wanted to throw the sword away, but kept it in his hand, else he would be compelling his opponent (a Siva Bhakta!) to incur the sin of killing an unarmed person. As he was mutely standing thus, Atisuran killed him.

Lord Siva was highly pleased with this self-sacrificing devotion that Enadinathar had for the ashes. He appeared before Enadinathar as he fell, and took him to His Abode.