Great Devotees of Lord Siva 17

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center" align="left"> In Tiruvarur, in South India, there was a pious

Bhakta by name Dandi Adigal. He was born blind. But, he always repeated the

Panchaksharam and visualised the Lord with his inner eyes. He would daily go to

the temple, do circumambulation, and worship the Lord. There was a tank on

the western side of the temple which was surrounded by Jain dwellings. Dandi

Adigal wanted to extend the area of the tank. But, how could he, a man born

blind, do it? But, with a determination and complete faith in the Lord, he

decided to do it. He erected a post inside the tank where it was to be dug and

tied a rope to it. The other end of the rope was tied to the other post which

was fixed on the bank. Then guided by the rope he would go to where the

digging had to be done. He would dig with a spade, collect the earth in a basket

and again with the help of the rope, he would go to the bank and throw the earth

away. The Jains were watching the blind man’s miracle. They were jealous of

his achievement, too. So, they wanted to disturb his faith. They put forward a

cunning argument. ‘You are blind and you cannot see. While digging, you are

killing many insects which is a great sin. So, give up this foolish act.’

Nayanar explained to them the sacredness of the work, which was highly pleasing

to the Lord, and also that by His grace, he was sure no insect would be injured.

He went on with work. The Jains were insulting in their behaviour now. They

said: ‘You were born blind: but now you are deaf, too. Even though we are

giving you good counsel, you are not

listening.’ Nayanar replied: ‘Oh ignorant people, what do you know of the Lord’s

glories? To me He is the sole refuge. I live only to serve Him. Do not mock at

His grace. By His grace, if I regained my eye-sight and you lost yours, what

will you do?’ This reply greatly annoyed them: they snatched the spade and the

basket from his hands. With a broken heart, Dandi Adigal went to the temple

and expressed his grievances to the Lord. The Lord appeared in his dream that

night and assured him of His help. He also appeared before the king in his

dream and asked him to redress the grievances of Nayanar. The king summoned the

Jains. Dandi Adigal was also there. The king addressed Dandi: ‘Oh devotee, you

said that by God’s grace you could get your eye-sight back and the Jains would

lose theirs.

Prove this.’ Dandi Adigal said: ‘Lord Siva is the real God. He is my sole refuge

and prop. I am only His slave. If this is true, let me regain my eye-sight and

let the Jains lose theirs.’ He then uttered the Panchaksharam and went into the

tank. When he came out, his eye-sight had been restored and at the same time,

the Jains lost their eye-sight. All were amazed at this. The king banished the

Jains from his kingdom and restored people’s faith in the Lord. Dandi Adigal

attained God-realisation. Sivaya Namah

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