Great Devotees of Lord Siva 18

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fought many battles and was always victorious. There was peace and plenty in his

kingdom. People worshipped him as the living God. He was well versed in the

Agamas. He was an ardent devotee of the Lord. To him Siva and His devotees,

adorned with matted locks, Rudraksham and sacred ashes represented the only

truth, Absolute Truth: and all the rest of the world was straw. He saw

everything as Sivamayam. Siva Bhaktas enjoyed absolute freedom in his country:

they were honoured by the king and the people alike. Though he ruled the

kingdom as the king, his mind was always at the Lord’s Feet. Daily, special

prayers and festivals were conducted in the temples in his realm. Nayanar’s

fame soon spread far and wide. This evoked the jealousy of Muthanathan, the

king of the neighbouring state.

He collected a big army and attacked Nayanar several times; but he was

repeatedly defeated. So, Muthanathan resorted to foul-play. One day, he

disguised himself as a Siva Yogi (for he knew that Nayanar had supreme devotion

to Siva Bhaktas) and entered the palace at night. The gate-keepers did not

question him, but allowed him to proceed. Dathan, the faithful and intelligent

servant of Nayanar, was guarding the bedroom in which the king was sleeping.

When the Siva Yogi approached the bedroom, Dathan tried to dissuade him from

disturbing the king’s sleep; but the Yogi refused to listen, saying: ‘I have

some secret Shastra to teach the king. I cannot wait.’ So, Dathan had to allow

the Yogi to enter the bedroom of the king, though he was a little suspicious.

Nayanar’s wife got up and, finding a Siva Yogi in the room, quickly awakened

her husband. The Siva Yogi told the king that the Shastra was a great secret,

revealed by the Lord Himself,

and that only the king was entitled to hear it. At once the king sent even the

queen away and prostrated before the Yogi, ready to receive the secret. At

that moment, the Siva Yogi, who was none else than the jealous king

Muthanathan, quickly stabbed Nayanar on his back, with a knife he had kept

hidden. At that time, the shrewd Dathan, as he entered the room, found the king

on the floor in a pool of blood and Muthanathan with a knife in his hand. He was

ready to strike down Muthanathan, when the dying Nayanar said: ‘Datha, he is our

man. He has the appearance of a Siva Yogi and so must be honoured as one. Do not

harm him. Kindly escort him to the borders of our kingdom, and see that he is

unharmed.’ Dathan obeyed the commands of his master. As he was escorting

Muthanathan, the people who had heard what happened went to attack Muthanathan,

but, as soon as Dathan told them of the king’s commands, they withdrew, admiring

the supreme devotion of

their king. Thus, Muthanathan was safely escorted out of the kingdom. And,

Dathan hastened back to the palace to convey this news to the dying king who

was eagerly waiting for it. As soon as Dathan conveyed the news to the king,

the Nayanar called all his Ministers and relatives to his bedside, and spoke to

them as follows: ‘It is our duty to serve the Bhaktas. They must be honoured

and worshipped at all times and under all circumstances. Let our people walk in

the footsteps of the Siva Bhaktas. Let the country be flooded with Siva Bhaktas.

By their blessings, let peace and prosperity reign in our land.’ With these

words, he closed his eyes and meditated on Lord Siva. Lord Siva at once

appeared before him and blessed him as follows: ‘I am immensely pleased with

your devotion to My Bhaktas. I am immensely pleased with your cosmic love and

your unquestioning devotion

to My devotees. Even in a murderer you saw Me. You are, therefore, fit to reach

the Highest Abode which even the Devas cannot hope to reach. You will soon come

to My Abode.’ With these words the Lord disappeared: and Maiporul Nayanar (whose

very name meant ‘one for whom God was the sole reality’) also attained His

Abode. Sivaya Namah

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