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The fertile chOza kingdom where the river ponni (kAvEri) flows, had a village kaNa maN^galam . With the ponds full of green lotus leaves interspersed between the fields having grown golden crops they remind the shakti sitting on the lap of Lord shiva.

thAyanAr , leading a married life with the goal of it to stand by the moral values, doing the profession of feeding the world by plowing the earth - agriculture, was as rich as his broad mind. Even if one was able to measure his material wealth, he had unmeasurable unperishing wealth of service to the holy feet that was unrevealed to the search of hari and viriJNchi . There is an adage, "Mango will feed the food that even mother failed to feed". His love for the Lord must be more than that of the mother. His discipline was to to offer to the Lord everyday the best rice food along with fresh spinach and the budding mango ( mAvadu ). Along with his love that should taste the best for the Lord whose taste is the taste one must really taste.

He, our Master, wanted to put the luminance of his service like a torch that is on the top of a hill. He changed his status from rich. But how could he lose his wealth ? He continued to have the wealth of worship and service even in the absence of what others consider the wealth. He started doing the farmwork for others, from the rice grains he gets as the pay for that, he used to make the best of them the food for the Formless. He would eat and feed others of his family with the rice grains that are low in quality. The unexplorable Lord brought change to that status as well. With the fields going dry, due to natural calamities, he couldn't get work in the state to continue his service. His determination was much more than that to be subdued. With his wife who was like arun^thathi in her service to her husband, gave her ornaments, the house, furnitures and vessels as deposits to get loan. They used that money to continue the worship without break. It is the quality of an ideal couple to go always in the path of moral values and generocity - that is the meaning of the married life too.

Oneday as the routine, he carried in a basket the rice that is as pure as his love and the tasty spinach and mangobuds. His wife of chaste heart and service followed him with the five holy materials that cow gives. They gave the Lord who has no hunger the best food, but they starved. Due to the fatigue she fell down while walking spilling the materials on the ground and so was he. He felt very bad not for his state but about the inability to do his duty as he has spilt the food for the Lord shiva. He felt miserable for not being blessed with offering the food for the Lord who fed the piglets crying in hunger. He took his dagger, started cutting his neck. The sound of the graceful God holding the hands of the devotee and the mangobud shouting, "please leave, leave", was heard at the same time. When the hands of the Almighty that blesses all the creatures in the universe touched his neck, the wound dur to the dagger cut was cured and so was his karma cured. With the folded hands and devotion of multiple fold he praised the parashiva who appeared on the holy Bull with shakti. The giver of boons appreciated their love and took both of them to reside with Him. As he attempted to cut his neck due to the feeling that he couldn't do the service he undertook for umApati , he got the name arivAttAyar . Let the dediction of arivAttAya n^AyanAr who was determined to do the service in spite of the serious problems he had stay in the mind.

gurupUjai : thai thiruvAdhirai