Naminandhi adigal

He with a great eagerness to salute the Lord of thiruvArUr went there. He worshiped the only hold for the devotees the Lord who has the feathers decorated matted hair who has taken abode at the ant-hill. Very many days he spent saluting the the Supreme who smashed the three cities into heaps of ash. Then he went to serve the Lord at thearaneRi abode. With his heartful of love, mind full of mahEsha he prostrated many times the Lord and stood up in the interest of lighting the lamps thus serving the Kindling flame. By then the time was already evening, and he went to a nearby house to ask for some ghee for the lamps. The house he entered happened to be a house of a Jain. The people in the house mocked at him saying while the God Himself had the fire in His hand why unnecessarily he needed to put the light. No ghee was available if he wanted he could pour the water form the pond to light the lamps, they laughed in the ignorance of half shuttered realization. n^AyanAr felt bad, left to the temple and cried to the Lord.

There rose a voice ordering him to shed the sorrow and pour the pond water in the lamps and lit them. Praising the Lord who has the Sun, Moon and fire as the Three eyes, he brought the water from the pond and put it on the cotton plaited thread. With the world wondering, vengents whispering down, the White-Ash smeared Lord blessing, he lit the lamp that glowed till the dawn. He lit the complete sets of lamps the same way to illuminate the abode fantastically. While the absolute Source of energy is with, what other source could be hurdle ?! As he had the principle of worshiping the Lord shiva at his house everyday, he left the same night to his town and did the worship. The next morning he returned to the temple at thiruvArUr, did all the required services inside and outside the temple with the joy of working for the Greatest Master. In the evening he decorated in his way the abode of the Light with luminant lamps. This continued for many days. By then because of the great love and deed of dhandiyadigaL(1) Jains lost their faith and left the area. The shaivite discipline prospered. The king donated and organized many endowments for the service of the Lord.

The festival town of thiruvArUr geared up for celebrating the auspicious paN^guni uththiram(2). The Street Dancing Lord with the inseparable shakti on the victorious Bull came blessing all the way to thirumaNalai as part of the festivities. There the crowd that mingled with the chanting of the traditionless Lord's fame was without any caste and creed barriers. What barrier, caste, creed, age, sex, race, language or any form of life, could be there while thepashupati is there to salvage every creature. Along with them our n^AyanAr praised the God of nature. He returned home and was sleeping in the darkness of night on the outside corridor of the house. His wife came out and enquired why he did not do the Lord's worship by growing fire that night and skipped the food. When he was in the festival crowd everybody was present so the impurity followed him, he replied. He further asked his wife to bring water to bathe and then start the pUja. As she left, by the wish of God or by tiredness who knows, he slept immediately. The Lord came as if He comes to the pUja, and enlightened him that those who were born in the thiruvArUr belong to His squad. The devotee woke up shivering and with realization. He felt bad for not doing the night worship of the Ultimate Source. Did the worship, told the wife the happenings and rushed to thiruvArUr in the wake of dawn. As he entered thiruvArUr he saw everybody living there to have the form of the Stain-throated Gold like bodied God. He, fearful, fell down on the ground saluted them and rejoiced.

He saw the scene changed again with people back in their normal form. He begged for excuse from the Lord who showers the grace, who shines in everything. He lived doing a great splendid service to the God. He served the devotees of the Ash smeared Lord with many needful things with a rising fame and got praised in the thEvAram ofthirun^Avukkarachu n^AyanAr(3). His service to the Lord, to His truthful slaves continued as he was praised by the sage of service. With the world praising his service he entered the luminance of the shade of the Lord of thiruvArUR. Let the thirst to serve the hara in spite of the non-conducive circumstances stay in the mind.

நீறு புனைவார் அடியார்க்கு நெடுநாள் நியதியாகவே

வேறு வேறு வேண்டுவன எல்லாஞ் செய்து மேவுதலால்

ஏறு சிறப்பின் மணிப்புற்றில் இருந்தார் தொண்டர்க் காணியெனும்

பேறு திருநா வுக்கரசர் விளம்பப் பெற்ற பெருமையினார்.

நமிநந்தியடிகள் நாயனார் புராணம்

சோதி விளக்கொன் றேற்றுதலும்

சுடர்விட் டெழுந்த ததுநோக்கி

ஆதி முதல்வர் அரனெறியார்

கோயில் அடைய விளக்கேற்றி

ஏதம் நினைந்த அருகந்தர்

எதிரே முதிருங் களிப்பினுடன்

நாதர் அருளால் திருவிளக்கு

நீரால் எரித்தார் நாடறிய.

நீர்வார்த்த அவ்வகல் விளக்கு ஒன்றில் தீயை ஏற்றலும், அது சுடர் விட்டு மேலோங்க எழுந்து எரிந்தது. அதைக்கண்டதும் ஆதி முதல்வரான அரனெறியப்பரின் திருக் கோயில் முழுவதும், அடாத மொழிகளைக் கூறிய சமணர்களின் எதிரில், மேலோங்கிய மகிழ்ச்சியுடன் எங்கும் நீர்வார்த்துத் திருவிளக் குகளை ஏற்றுவித்து, இறைவரின் திருவருளால் நாடு முழுவதும் அறியுமாறு அவ்வாறாய திருவிளக்கிடும் பணியைச் செய்து வந்தார்.

வந்த கவலை மாற்றும்இனி

மாறா விளக்குப் பணிமாற

இந்த மருங்கில் குளத்துநீர்

முகந்து கொடுவந் தேற்றுமென

அந்தி மதியம் அணிந்தபிரான்

அருளால் எழுந்த மொழிகேளாச்

சிந்தை மகிழ்ந்து நமிநந்தி

அடிகள் செய்வ தறிந்திலரால்.

`உமக்கு உண்டான கவலையை மாற்றிக் கொள்ளும்; இனி இடையீடின்றித் திருவிளக்குப் பணியைச் செய்வ தற்கு அருகில் உள்ள இக்குளத்தின் நீரை முகந்து கொணர்ந்து விளக்கை ஏற்றும்` என்று, மாலையில் தோன்றும் பிறைச் சந்திரனை அணிந்த சிவபெருமானின் அருளால் எழுந்த அத்திரு வார்த்தையைக் கேட்டு, நமிநந்தியடிகள் மனம் மகிழ்ந்து செய்வது அறியாமல் நின்றார்.

You can listen to the story of Sri Naminandhi Adigal in a tamil discourse at the following site:

http://www.esnips.com/doc/2a4a0b60-4729-4e17-a777-ee152d9d8677/26naminandhi-adikaL