by: Sri Swami Sivananda
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 householders 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 Thayanars 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 Lila was over. He at once stretched His hand and
caught hold of Nayanars, 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 Lords Lila, 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.
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