Maiporul Nayanar was a
pious king. He ruled over the hill tribes of Sethi. He was chivalrous and brave. He fought many battles and was
always victorious. There was peace and plenty in his kingdom. People worshipped
him as the living God.
He was well versed in
the Agamas. He was an ardent devotee of the Lord. To him Siva and His devotees,
adorned with matted locks, Rudraksham and sacred ashes represented the only
truth, Absolute Truth and all the rest of the world was straw. He saw
everything as Sivamayam. Siva Bhaktas enjoyed absolute freedom in his country they
were honored by the king and the people alike. Though he ruled the kingdom as
the king, his mind was always at the Lord’s Feet. Daily, special prayers and
festivals were conducted in the temples in his realm.
Nayanar’s fame soon
spread far and wide. This evoked the jealousy of Muthanathan, the king of the neighboring
state. He collected a big army and attacked Nayanar several times; but he was
repeatedly defeated. So, Muthanathan resorted to foul-play. One day, he
disguised himself as a Siva Yogi and entered the palace at night. The
gate-keepers did not question him, but allowed him to proceed. Dathan, the
faithful and intelligent servant of Nayanar, was guarding the bedroom in which
the king was sleeping. When the Siva Yogi approached the bedroom, Dathan tried
to dissuade him from disturbing the king’s sleep; but the Yogi refused to
listen, saying “I have some secret Shastra to teach the king. I cannot wait. So,
Dathan had to allow the Yogi to enter the bedroom of the king, though he was a
little suspicious. Nayanar’s wife got up and, finding a Siva Yogi in the room,
quickly awakened her husband. The Siva Yogi told the king that the Shastra was
a great secret, revealed by the Lord Himself, and that only the king was
entitled to hear it. At once the king sent even the queen away and prostrated
before the Yogi, ready to receive the secret. At that moment, the Siva Yogi,
who was none else than the jealous king Muthanathan, quickly stabbed Nayanar on
his back, with a knife he had kept hidden. At that time, the shrewd Dathan, as
he entered the room, found the king on the floor in a pool of blood and
Muthanathan with a knife in his hand. He was ready to strike down Muthanathan,
when the dying Nayanar said “Datha, he is our man. He has the appearance of a
Siva Yogi and so must be honored as one. Do not harm him. Kindly escort him to
the borders of our kingdom, and see that he is unharmed.Dathan obeyed the
commands of his master. As he was escorting Muthanathan, the people who had
heard what happened went to attack Muthanathan, but, as soon as Dathan told
them of the king’s commands, they withdrew, admiring the supreme devotion of
their king. Thus, Muthanathan was safely escorted out of the kingdom. And,
Dathan hastened back to the palace to convey this news to the dying king who
was eagerly waiting for it.
As soon as Dathan
conveyed the news to the king, the Nayanar called all his Ministers and
relatives to his bedside, and spoke to them as follows “It is our duty to serve
the Bhaktas. They must be honored and worshipped at all times and under all
circumstances. Let our people walk in the footsteps of the Siva Bhaktas. Let
the country be flooded with Siva Bhaktas. By their blessings, let peace and
prosperity reign in our land.” With these words, he closed his eyes and
meditated on Lord Siva.
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