Pugazh Thunai Nayanar

Nayanars

The Nayanars or Nayanmars were Shaivite devotional poets of Tamil Nadu, active between the fifth and the tenth centuries CE...

was a pious Adi Shaiva

Shaivism

Shaivism is one of the four major sects of Hinduism, the others being Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Smartism. Followers of Shaivism, called "Shaivas," and also "Saivas" or "Saivites," revere Shiva as the Supreme Being. Shaivas believe that Shiva is All and in all, the creator, preserver, destroyer,...

 of Srivilliputhur

Srivilliputhur

Srivilliputhur is a semi-urban town and a municipality in Virudhunagar district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu....

. He was an ardent Shiva Bhakta. He was a
pujari

Pujari

Pujari means one who does the Puja of the idol of God physically in Hindu temples as a priest. Pujaris are also called archaka. Pujaris learn and chant hymns dedicated to God, generally in Sanskrit. Pujaris are mainly drawn from the Hindu Brahmin caste.-Pujaris as counselors:Throughout India,...

 whose daily duty was to do puja

Puja

Pūjā or alternative transliteration Pooja, is a religious ritual performed by Hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons, or special guests...

 in the temple, according to the Siva Āgamas

Āgama (Hinduism)

Agama means, in the Hindu context, "a traditional doctrine, or system which commands faith".In Hinduism, the Agamas are a collection of Sanskrit scriptures which are revered and followed by millions of Hindus.-Significance:...

.

Legend

Once a famine swept over the land and he had no money to buy food. People started to migrate from the village. Nayanar loved Shiva and his daily duty in the temple so much. So he did not like to leave the place in spite of the starvation. He stuck to that place and continued the Pooja. His body was emaciated. One day, in spite of his weakness, he fetched water for the Lord’s Bath (Abhishekam) in a pot and went into the shrine. when he was pouring the water on the Lingam, the water-pot slipped from his hand and fell on the shiva lingam. Nayanar was shocked. He forgot himself in sheer exhaustion and fainted away. The Lord appeared in his dream and said that he will leave one gold coin in the temple every day till the famine was over so that he could procure the necessary food for his family with that money . Nayanar woke up and found a gold coin and came to know that the dream was true. The Lord thus made his devotee to get over the famine. He continued his daily Pooja in the temple with sincerity and finally reached the Lord’s Abode.

External links

• http://www.shaivam.org/naayan_f.html

Tamil

Tamil language

Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...

:நாயன்மார்கள்
Hindi

Hindi

Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...

:नायनमार

Malayalam:അറുപത്