Continuing on our series on Nayanmars, we now move on to look at the priests, who worshipped the Lord for their love of him, and not just because it was their profession! Their profound love, even during the most trying of circumstances, made them earn his compassion and find their place among the Nayanmars!
Note: The numbers next to the names of the Nayanmars denote the order in which they appear in the Thiruthonda Thogai!
Thillai Vaazh Andhanar:
15.
Muruga Nayanar
16.
Uruthira Pasupathy Nayanar
26. Naminandi Adigal Nayanar
32.
Somasimara Nayanar
34.
Sirappuli Nayanar
37.
Gananatha Nayanar
54.
Pugazhthunai Nayanar
56.
Pusalar Nayanar
Note: The numbers next to the names of the Nayanmars denote the order in which they appear in the Thiruthonda Thogai!
Thillai Vaazh Andhanar:
When Lord Shiva asked Sundaramurthy Nayanar to sing a hymn in praise of his devotees, he gave the first line himself as " Thillai Vaazh Andhanar tham adiyarkum adiyen". The 3000 Dikshidars of the Chidambaram temple, had the privilege of being named by the Lord himself, because when Lord Shiva manifested in the form of a linga in the middle of a Thillai forest at Chidambaram, these Dikshidars are said to have accompanied him for the purpose of carrying out rituals of his worship.
Birth
- Thirukadaiyur Mukthi -
Thirukadaiyur
Guru
poojai - Avani Moolam
Temple
- Amirthakadeswarar Temple, Thirukadaiyur,
Arunajadeswarar
Temple, Thirupanandhal
Kalayar
was a Brahmin priest and a staunch devotee of Shiva. Every day his primary responsibility was to offer Benzoin (Kungiliyam) fragrance to the Lord at Thirukadaiyur. The
Lord, in order to test his devotion, made him lose his livelihood and
possessions. Still, Kalayar’s service continued, undeterred.
One day, when there
was nothing in the house to feed the children, his wife gave her Thaali asking
him to sell it to buy rice. When Kalayar went to the market, he found a man
selling Kungiliyam, so instead of rice, he bought Kungiliyam and went to the
temple, burnt it and sang the praises of the Lord. Hours passed, and his wife
and children fainted with hunger. The Lord, moved by Kalayar’s devotion, filled
the house with foodgrains, and riches. He appeared in the dream of Kalayar’s
wife, letting her know that there was enough food for the children and she
should prepare something for them to eat.
The lady woke up, saw the house full
of provisions, and started preparing a tasty meal. Lord Shiva chided Kalayar
for forgetting his duty, and urged him to go home and have a meal. Kalayar
thanked the Lord and spent all the riches on feeding devotees.
In the meantime,
the lingam at the Tirupanandhal temple had tilted, and the King tried all his
might, using elephants and soldiers, in vain, to straighten it. Hearing about
it, Kalayar rushed to the temple, put the noose on to his neck and pulled with
all love and devotion. Within seconds, the lingam straightened up. The King
fell at the feet of the devotee, and praised him.
Birth-
Tirupugalur Mukthi - Aachalpuram
Guru
poojai – Vaikhasi Moolam
Temple
– Agneeswarar Temple, Tirupugalur
Muruga
Nayanar was a Brahmin priest of Tirupugalur. He was a great devotee
of Lord Shiva. Every morning, he collected flowers from plants and trees,
creepers and ponds, in different baskets held above the navel, and made garlands
for the Lord with the choicest flowers. His devotion was so pure and simple,
that when Thirugnanasambandar came to hear about him, he offered his
friendship. Sambandar and Appar stayed with Muruga Nayanar while visiting
Tirupugalur. Muruga Nayanar was invited to attend the wedding of
Gnanasambandar, wherein he attained mukthi along with Sambandar and other
invitees.
Birth
& Mukthi – Thiruthalaiyur near Kollumangudi
Guru
poojai – Purattasi Aswini
Temple:
Pasupathinathar Temple, Thiruthalaiyur
Pasupathy
Nayanar was a very pious Brahmin who chanted the Vedas with austerity and
devotion. Every morning, he would get into neck deep water in the lotus pond, with
his hands held high above his head like a blooming lotus bud, and would chant
the Rudram with utmost devotion. The Lord, pleased with his devotion, placed
his lotus feet upon the raised hands of Pasupathy Nayanar and gave him mukthi.
Because he recited the Rudram with utmost devotion, he came to be known as
Uruthira Pasupathy Nayanar.
25.
Thiruneelanakka Nayanar
Birth
– Seeyathamangai Mukthi – Aachaalpuram
Guru
poojai – Vaikasi Moolam
Temple
– Brahmapureeswarar Temple,
Seeyathamangai
Thiruneela
Nakkar was a Brahmin who lived in Thiruchathamangai with his wife. Both of them loved to worship
Ayavantheeswarar. One day, the wife saw a spider running up the baanam of the
Lord. Without thinking, she blew on it, to chase it away. Thiruneela Nakkar was
shocked that his wife would think of doing something so unholy. In a fit of
rage, he told her that he was disowning
her. The distraught wife stayed back at the temple. That night, the Lord
appeared in Thiruneela Nakkar’s dream and showed him his body. He had blisters
everywhere, except where Nakkar’s wife had blown. Nakkar
regretted his action, and brought his wife back in the morning. He soon
heard about the glory of Gnanasambandar and wanted to meet him. When Sambandar
came to Sathamangai, Thiruneelanakkar received him and gave him a place to
stay. He was invited to perform the wedding of Gnanasambandar at Aachaalpuram,
where he also attained mukthi along with Sambandar.
For a detailed post on the Seeyathamangai temple and the tale of Thiruneelanakkar on Aalayam Kanden, click here.
Birth
– Thiruneipper Mukthi – Tiruvarur
Guru
poojai – Vaikasi Poosam
Temple
– Vanmeeganatha Swamy Temple, Thiruneipper
Naminandi
Adigal was a Brahmin who was very fond of going to Tiruvarur to worship Lord
Vanmeeganatha. He had a desire to light innumerable lamps in the temple that
would glow until dawn. One day, he approached a house near the temple and asked
for some ghee. The inhabitants being Jains, told him they had no ghee and asked
him to light the lamps with water. Naminandi Adigal was heartbroken. He went
back to the temple, and wept. The Lord asked Naminandi to light the lamps from
the water in the pond. Unquestioningly, Naminandi obeyed and the lamps burned
bright until day. This continued for many days. One day, he accompanied the
Lord on a procession and went home. When his wife asked him to come in and
perform the pujas, he replied that he had been along with people of other
communities and would like to cleanse himself before worship. It was as though
by magic, that he fell asleep immediately. In his dream Lord Shiva told him
that all those who are born in Tiruvarur were his Ganas. Naminandi woke up,
regretting his mistake. Next morning, when he went to the temple, he saw
everyone as Shiva Ganas. A repentant Naminandi sought forgiveness of the Lord
and spent his life in performing service.
Birth
– Ambar Mukthi – Tiruvarur
Guru
poojai – Vaikasi Aayilyam
Temple
– Brahmapureeswarar Temple, Ambar
Somasimara
Nayanar was an exponent of Samaveda. He was an ardent devotee of Shiva and
believed in revering and serving his devotees as a path to attain salvation. He
was greatly inspired by Sundaramurthy Nayanar. He went to Tiruvarur and recited
the Samavedha. On hearing the rendition, Lord Shiva is said to have appeared
before them. He spent his life in serving Sundaramurthy Nayanar before
attaining Mukthi.
Birth
& Mukthi – Thiruaakur
Guru
poojai – Karthigai Puradam
Temple
– Thanthonrinadhar temple, Thiruaakur
Sirappuli
Nayanar was a devotee of Lord Shiva and he took it as his prime responsibility
to feed His devotees and give them what they sought. Pleased with the
commitment and dedication with which he fed devotees, Lord Shiva himself came
as one among thousand devotees fed by him. Hence he is called Ayirathil Oruvar
(One in a thousand) in the Thiru Aakur temple.
Birth
& Mukthi – Sirkazhi
Guru
poojai – Panguni Thiruvadhirai
Temple
– Thoniappar Temple, Sirkazhi
Gananatha
Nayanar was very devoted to the service of Lord Shiva. He felt the need to
train several people to perform the services required by the Lord. So he
identified and trained several young people to be devotees and maintain the
temple groves, and collect flowers for worship, make garlands, bring clean
water and fresh milk for bathing the Lord, cleaning the temple, removing the
vegetation, lighting lamps and all other services that were needed in the
temple. He was instrumental in disciplining the youth through service to God.
He became the Head of the Ganas in the Lord’s abode.
Birth
& Mukthi – Thiruarisirkaraiputhur (Azhagaputhur)
Guru
poojai – Avani Ayilyam
Temple
– Sornapureeswarar Temple, Azhaputhur
In
Seruvilliputhur there was a priest called Pugazhthunaiyar. He worshipped the
Lord with true affection and devotion. Most people in the village starting
leaving it due to famine. But Pugazhthunaiyar chose to stay, not wanting to
leave the Lord alone and hungry. Even when there was no food available, he
brought whatever fresh flower he could find, and bathed the Lord in cold water.
One day, he felt giddy due to hunger and dropped the pot on the head of the
Lord and became faint. In his dream, the Lord told him that every day he would
keep a gold coin in his shrine till the famine was over. When Pugazhthunaiyar
woke up, he found a gold coin at the feet of the Lord. With hunger being driven
away, he continued his worship undisturbed and reached the lotus feet of the
Lord.
Birth
& Mukthi – Thiruninravur
Guru
poojai – Aipasi Anusham
Temple
– Hridayaleeswarar Temple, Thiruninravur
Pusalar
Nayanar was a poor Brahmin who was desirous of building a temple for Lord
Shiva. He asked several people to help but they thought he was crazy. A
disappointed Pusalar decided to build a temple in his heart. He started with
the foundation and constructed the temple little by little. Finally the temple
rose in his heart. He set a date for the consecration and invited the Lord to
come into the sanctum. At the same time, the Pallava King was also building a
magnificent temple for Lord Shiva. He had set the consecration date as the same
day as Pusalar. The previous night, the Lord appeared in his dream, and asked
him to move the date to another day, as he had to fulfil Pusalar’s wish and
enter his temple. The King was surprised that there could be a man in his
kingdom who had built a temple that was greater than his. So he went to
Tiruninravur and asked about the temple that Pusalar had built. No one knew
where it was. So the king asked if he could see Pusalar. He went to the tree
where Pusalar sat in meditation and saluted him. He humbly asked him about the
temple he had built. Pusalar fell at the King’s feet, with tears running down
his eyes. He could not believe that the Lord had actually considered the temple
he had built in his heart to be more important than the one built by the King.
When the King heard that Pusalar had actually built the temple in his heart, he
circumambulated him and fell at his feet.
For a detailed article on the life of Pusalar Nayanar and the Hridayaleeswara Temple on Aalayam Kanden, click here.
61.
Chadaiya Nayanar
Birth
& Mukthi – Thirunavalur
Guru
poojai – Markazhi Thiruvadhirai
Temple
– Bakthajaneswarar Temple, Thirunavalur
Chadaiya
Nayanar was the father of Sundaramurthy Nayanar. He came from a family that
called themselves the slaves of the slaves of God. Sundaramurthy Nayanar’s excellent,
blemishless love for the Lord was inherited from Chadaiya Nayanar and the
grooming of his son towards the path of divinity.
For a detailed article on Chadaiya Nayanar and the Tirunavalur temple on Aalayam Kanden, click here.
Check out the other posts on the Nayanmars series too:
Good information. Thanks - ramaswamyganesan55@yahoo.co.in
ReplyDeleteOhm Namasivaya. No caste n creed among the great devotees of Lord Siva.Same is the case with 12 Azhvarkal.
ReplyDeleteNamaskarams