Pattinathaar – Part 2

Please read Part 1 by clicking here before proceeding further.

Pattinathaar realized that he was going to be punished. “Punished for what?” he thought. “I have never committed any crime in this birth. Maybe I have harmed someone in my previous birth for which I am being punished now.  Karma never makes a mistake. Therefore, if indeed I have committed a crime in my earlier births, let me be punished” he said and broke out into a verse “En Seyalaavadhu onrumillai”.  It is to be noted here that instead of fear of death or hate towards the person who had ordered the punishment, the feeling of sorrow for any crime committed by him even if unwittingly in his earlier births was foremost in Pattinathaar’s mind. The moment he sang with so much of remorse, the iron stakes caught fire and were burnt to ashes. The king’s men who were stunned by this, immediately ran to the king and  informed him.

The king Bhadragiri (some say it is Bhartruhari) could not believe what he heard and came rushing to the place where Pattinathaar was. Looking at Pattinathaar, he realized that he had insulted a great saint and prostrated to him seeking forgiveness. He also abdicated his throne and requested Pattinathaar to take him as his disciple. Pattinathaar agreed and told him to proceed to Tiruvidaimarudhur. Bhadragiri, now a mendicant, implicitly obeyed his Guru and went to Tiruvidaimarudhur and stayed near the west tower of the temple singing the praises of Lord Shiva and seeking alms.  He possessed only a begging bowl and nothing else.

After a few years, Pattinathaar came to Tiruvidaimarudhur and stayed near the east tower. As he had already vowed never to beg for food, his disciple Bhadragiri would bring whatever he received and feed his Guru three mouthfuls of food before he ate himself.

One on occasion, as Bhadragiri  was eating his food a hungry dog came near looking expectantly at the food. Out of pity Bhadragiri fed the dog with some rice. The dog decided to stay with him and that became a new attachment for Bhadragiri. One day an old man came to Pattinathaar (some accounts say it was Lord Shiva in the form of an old man). The man asked Pattinathaar for some food. Pattinathaar said, “I don’t have anything. I eat only if someone gives me something to eat, but you can go to the west tower and find a householder there who may give you food”. The man went to Bhadragiri  and repeated verbatim what Pattinathaar had said and remarked, “You must be the householder I guess…” Bhadragiri was stung by the word ‘householder’ as he realized that he had developed a bond with the dog. With great guilt and anger he threw the begging bowl, which unfortunately hit the dog and broke into two . The dog died.

Sixteen years passed. One day the King of Kashi arrived at Tiruvidaimarudhur with his young daughter and they went straight to Bhadragiri. Addressing Bhadragiri, the king said, “This is my daughter who remembers her previous birth as a dog who ate what you gave and listened to the hymns you sang. The merit accrued by that has made her next birth as my daughter and now she wants to serve you”.  Bhadragiri was surprised and confused. He did not know what to say.

Taking the king and the princess he went to his Guru sitting near the east tower. He told Pattinathaar the story told by the king. He then said, “O Guru! Why has the dog been given another birth even after listening to Lord Shiva’s names for so long??” Pattinathaar said, “Come let us go into the temple and ask Lord Shiva himself.” And so all the four of them went and stood in front of Lord Mahalingam as Shiva is known is Tiruvidaimarudhur.

Pattinathaar, then addressing the Shivalingam, sang a verse asking the query Bhadragiri had put forth. In response there was a huge flash and a flame appeared upon the Lingam and Bhadragiri, the king and the princess were sucked into it and they vanished! Rather than with amazement, Pattinathaar was overwhelmed with sorrow that his disciple and the others had reached Lord Shiva’s feet while he was still there. Lord Shiva came in his dream that night and said, “Go to various Kshetras. In the location where the ‘Pei Karumbu’ (wild sugarcane) tastes sweet, you will achieve liberation.(normally the wild sugarcane is terribly bitter)

Pattinathaar then travelled to Madurai, Kancheepuram and many other Kshetras. His constant prayer to Lord Shiva was to grant him relief from the birth-death cycle. He finally reached Tiruvotriyur which is a part of North Chennai today. He found that in Tiruvotriyur, the wild sugarcane (Pei Karumbu) tasted sweet to him. He realized that it was time to leave this world. Roaming about on the sea-shore, he saw some young boys playing about with a huge basket. He started to play with them. He would tell them to dig a pit in the sand and he would get into the pit. He would then tell them to cover him with the basket. When they covered him, he would come out from somewhere else and would be missing when the basket was lifted.  The boys were thrilled to play this ‘magic’ game. This went on for a few days.

One day, Pattinathaar told the boys to dig a pit in which he could go in neck-deep. They obliged as he was their friend now. As it was getting dark, Pattinathaar told the boys to go home. They went, leaving him buried in neck-deep sand on the sea-shore. One of the boys came back after a while carrying some food in a big vessel. He said to Pattinathaar, “I felt bad that you would remain hungry and brought some food for you. Open your mouth and I shall feed you”. Pattinathaar obliged and ate three mouthfuls. He told the boy also to eat. The boy ate. Pattinathaar told the boy to wash the vessel and cover his (Pattinathaar’s) head with the vessel, which the boy did. He then told the boy to lie on the sand in front of him and the boy obeyed.

The next morning people on the beach found a Shivalingam and Nandi on the beach. The boy along with Pattinathaar had attained liberation from this earthly life.

The Samadhi of Pattinathaar which is now a temple is at Tiruvotriyur, Chennai.

Om Namah Shivaya!!

Note: Source for this story is from information contained in Shaivam.org, speeches of scholars like Shri So.So. Meenakshisundaram Ayya and Shri Tamizharuvi Manian ji available on public domain.