Chirappuli Nāyaṉār

On the banks of the Kaveri at

illustration courtesy Ramalingar Pani Mandram

Thiruvakoor dwelt the Andhanar Brahmins, a clan known for their devotion to the Lord. Among them was one who outshone the rest. With long years’ experience in performing yagnas and a vast knowledge of the Vedas, Chirappuli excelled by his selfless service to Sivabhaktas. He reasoned that if the linga represents the Lord in ‘immovable form’ (sthanu), then his devotees were the ‘Lord in motion’ (jangama). It was this latter form of the Divine on which Chirappuliyār chose to concentrate his devotion. He thus passed his days serving delectable meals to devotees while silently reciting the Rudram within. After meals he made gifts of clothing and by such selfless giving, came to be seen by all as a loving father.

The flowers with which he worshipped devotees reached the Lord’s Feet at Kailasa. As the heaps of offered flowers mounted, those responsible for storing them complained, “O Lord, please fulfill the desire of your devotee so that he might be pacified and give us rest.

When Parvati noticed the Lord’s perplexity as to how to bless Chirappuliyār, she suggested visiting him directly. Thus appearing before the devotee, Lord Siva said: “Your devotion has pleased me. Tell me how I might bless you in return”. Chirappuliyār replied: “If I be worthy, give me only the wherewithal to ceaselessly worship your form”. The Lord divined that the saint was fully ripe and granted his devotee that which was unattainable even to yogis — supreme liberation.

Reproduced from the January 2014 issue of the Saranāgatī eNewsletter
published by Sri Ramanasramam. The above text has been freely adapted from editions
of Periapurāṇam, Siva Bhakta Vilāsam (published by Sri Ramanasramam) and other texts.