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		"I am a servitor of Pukazhtthunai who dedicated his mind
		To the auric feet of the Lord that dances, even as
		The snake dances on his circling vestment of tiger-skin"
		
						- The Tiru-th-Tonda-th-Tokai

1. 	He came to be born in the ever-during and divine clan
	Of Siva Brahmins of Ceruviliputthoor; he was unique
	In his sacred and personal servitorship to the Lord
	Whose bow is Mount Meru; his matchless fame
	Pervaded the whole world; he was called
	Pukazhtthunaiyaar-- the ever-glorious.				(4127)

2. 	When he spent his days adoring his Lord King, in tapas
	Poised in truth a famine swept the earth girt
	With the swelling main, and hunger became rampant;
	Yet, affirming “I will not give up my Lord-King,”
	He performed night and day his pooja to the Lord
	With many a fragrant flower and cool water.			(4128)

3. 	One day when he ritualistically bathed Him who is
	Inaccessible to Brahma and Vishnu, as he languished
	From dire hunger, he grew unsteady and could not hold
	The beauteous pot of holy water; he dropped it on the crown
	Of the blue-throated Lord, alas, and stood wilting.		(4129)



4. 	Then slumber closed his eyes by the grace of Sankara;
	The Merciful One blessed him in his dream thus:
	“Till the end of famine which has caused
	The scarcity of food, We will place here for you
	A coin (of gold).” Freed of his misery, he woke up.		(4130)

5. 	The Lord who rides the Bull in joy, gave him
	A coin of gold which was placed at the foot
	Of the Pita to free him from his misery; the devotee
	Whose body had wasted with hunger, took it and felt happy;
	Blessed with absolutely divine consciousness,
	His face burgeoned, and he felt ecstatic. 			(4131)

6. 	Like that day, on all succeeding day, with the coin
	Thus received (he flourished); when the famine
	That caused the dire distress of cruel hunger,
	Passed away, he continued as ever to do his true
	And personal service to the Lord of fulgurant
	And ruddy matted hair, and reached the umbrage
	Cast by the feet of the Holy Lord, where he was
	To be ever hailed by the immortals of Siva-loka.		(4132)

7. 	Adoring the feet of Pukazhtthunaiyaar in whose mind
	The feet of the Lord who is concorporate with Uma--
	Whose soft fingers sport with a ball wrought of petalled flowers--,
	For ever abide, we proceed to narrate the servitorship
	Of Kotpuliyaar, the wearer of a fragrant garland,
	The peerless chief whose beauteous arms
	Were smeared with aromatic sandal-paste.			(4133)

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NOTES

Verse No.

   1.	Ceriviliputthoor: This is now known as Azhakaarputthoor.
	
	Pukazhtthunaiyaar: This name means: (1) “He who is the companion of 
	Glory and (2) he who is held by Glory as its companion.

   2.	He performed. . .  cool water: The inference is that our Naayanaar who 
	was in the grip of famine, could not offer any neivedya (food-offering) 
	to Siva.  Yet he performed night and day his pooja to the Lord with many 
	a fragrant flower and cool water.

   4.	Then slumber closed his eyes: Cf. (1) The slumber of St. Sundarar at 
	Tiruppukaloor and (2) the slumber of St. Appar at Maraikkaadu.

		Beside the godly child and St. Appar, this Naayanaar was the 
	one to receive padikkaasu from Siva.


			Here ends the Puranam of Pukazhtthunai Naayanaar

Sincere thanks to Sri. T N Ramachandran of thanjavur, for permitting his English rendering of the holy text periyapurANam be published here.