Great Devotees of Lord Siva 12

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Enadinatha Nayanar was born in Eyinanur in South India. He was an ardent devotee

of Lord Siva, 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. Tirumantiram by Rishi Tirumular

Verse 1666: Power of Holy Ashes The sacred ashes of SivaWho has bones for

His garlandAre an armour indeed impregnable;For them who in joy smear itKarmas

take flight,And Siva-state comes seeking;And they shall reach His handsome

Feet. Commentary : The power of holy ashes of

Siva is so great that they who smear it in exultation will be freed from karmas;

finally reaching His Handsome Feet. Verse 1667: Holy Ashes elevate to

Brahman Status The holy ash shall make you a kingAnd all regalia shall you

have;They that are in its fire purifiedShall in truth be transformed

divine;Reaching the Feet of the Eternal, the ImmaculateThey shall attain

Brahman's formAnd ever be of Order Divine.

0pt"> Commentary: Cleansed in the fire of the holy ashes, they reach a regal

status. They reach the Feet of the Eternal, Immaculate Lord, attaining

ultimately the nature of SIVAM (Brahman). 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.

Roman'">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. Sivaya Namah

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