Great Devotees of Lord Siva 6

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Om Namah Sivaya Karaikal Ammaiyar Karaikal Ammaiyar Punithavathiar

as Karaikal Ammaiyar was called, was born in South India. Her father was

Danadathan. He was a wealthy merchant. He was very virtuous, too. He and his

dutiful wife prayed to the Lord for a child, and the child the Lord blessed

them with

they called Punithavathy. From her childhood, Punithavathy had an intense love

for Lord Siva and His Bhaktas. She was married to Paramadattan, a wealthy

merchant. Both of them were leading an ideal householder’s life. Punitavathy

feed with intense devotion and joy, the Bhaktas day and night and hear them

singing the names of Lord Siva. She always remembered the utterance of the

Vedas: “Let the guest be a God unto you – Atithi devo bhava”. She and her

husband took the food that remained after serving the devotees, as if it were

nectar. One day Paramadattan sent two mangoes to his house. Punithavathy kept

them safely so that she could serve her husband with them at meal-time. In the

meantime, a Siva Yogi appeared before her. He was hungry and completely

exhausted. Punithavathy worshipped him and offered him food. She had nothing to

give him as a side dish, except the mangoes. She gave one to the guest.

Paramadattan returned to the house. The wife served him with one mango. He

liked it, and asked for the other. She was upset. She appealed to the Lord for

help. When she finished her prayer, mysteriously a mango fell on the palm of

her hand. She gave it her husband. He tasted it. It was exceptionally sweet. He

asked her to tell him from where she got it, as he was quite sure it was not the

mango he had sent. Punithavathy told him the whole truth. Paramadattan, however,

would not believe this

and challenged her to produce another. She prayed again to the Lord. Another

mango appeared on her palm. She gave it to him. But, at once it disappeared

from his hand. He was astounded. He understood that his wife was a beloved

devotee of Lord Siva. He reflected within himself: “I am a great sinner. I have

treated a great devotee of Lord Siva as my servant. I cannot consider her as my

wife any longer. On the pretext of going to a foreign country for trade, he

sailed with a ship load of goods. On return, he established himself in a big

city in the Pandyan kingdom. He married a girl and lived happily. He had a

daughter by her and he named her Punithavathy, after his first wife. While he

was living there, the chaste

wife expecting his return continued the adorable deeds of serving devotees of

Lord Siva. Punithavathiyar’s relatives came to know of her husband’s

whereabouts and took her also there in a palanquin. When Paramadattan heard

that Punithavathy was coming to him, he, with his second wife and child, went

forward, and fell at Punithavathy’s feet. He said to his wife: “I am a worldly

man. I am passionate and greedy. You are Goddess. I cannot take you now as my

wife. Pray, pardon me.” Punithavathy understood his mental condition and

said: “I have preserved my youth and beauty for your sake only. As you don’t

want me, I shall seek my Lord Siva now.” She distributed all the jewels to

those around and prayed to the Lord: ‘Oh Lord, deprive me of the present

physical charm and let me have a demonaical form.’ Her prayer

was immediately granted and her charming body was transformed into a skeleton

body. Then she went on a pilgrimage to many Lord Siva temples and she sang

the Irattai mani malai andhadhi (100 songs). She then went to the holy Kailasa.

Feeling that it would be a great sin to place her foot on those sacred grounds,

she made the last part of the journey on her head. Mother Parvathy was

surprised to see Punithavathy’s strange form and her wonderful devotion.

Parvathi asked Lord Siva: “Who is that person, O Lord, who is comong towards

us?” Lord Siva

replied “That pious woman is My Mother, who nourished My devotees.”

Punithavathy fed the devotees like a mother. The Lord makes no distinction

between Himself and His devotees. He has said: “The devotees form My heart and

I, theirs. They do not think of anyone other than Me and I other than them.”

The Supreme Lord abides in the hearts of all beings. When she went near Him,

Lord Siva welcomed her with extreme love and granted a boon to her. She fell at

His Feet, and prayed: ‘Oh Lord of Mercy, give me sincere, pure, unalloyed,

eternal and overflowing devotion unto You. I want no more birth. If, however, I

have to

take birth here, grant me that I should never forget You. Whenever You dance, I

must be at Your feet singing Your praise. This is my only wish.’ Lord Siva

granted the boon and asked her to proceed to Tiruvalangadu to witness His

dance. She went to that place and spent her life singing the praise of Lord

Siva. Sivaya Namah

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