Staunch Devotee

In a figurative talk people use to say as blindly optimistic. blindly granting, blindly following , blindly pushing, blindly conceding. However, 'blind worship' is not figurative. It is real and truly happens, we go further and see what it is.

The great land have given birth plenty of scholars, profound moral and spiritual insight of knowledgeable Sages who possesses self-generated powers as Adi Sankara, Gyanasambanthar,Naukarasar, Manikkavasakar and so on. But even today one loves to hear a beautiful tale of a hunter who became an ardent devotee of Lord Siva. Really amazing.

The land green with the forests and hills having the excellent nature offers was the kingdom called Pothappi Nadu. There was a small village is called Uduppur in the kingdom. There was a hunter couple living in the village named Nagan and Thattai. They have had no children so they prayed to Lord Muruga and lord blessed a male child and it was heavy born baby so they happily gave name as Thinannan to the child (Thinnan means strong or heavy.)

The boy grew with the array of ornaments made out of animal bodies decorating his young and strong chest and waist, playing by catching the wild pigs, snakes and wild dogs, with the parents immersed in the sweet of his evolving talk. When he attain to the age of learning archery, fixed on an auspicious day and made a big arrangement through his hunters in all the directions. The hunters participated in the festive like a ceremony from many places and gifted many precious things like gems, leather, ivory, honey, favorite flesh varieties, fruits and roots to the young prince. After offering the custom sacrifices, Nagan arranged for a massive feast. Went on this ceremony for seven days. His father's tutelage Thinnan learnt the art of archery perfectly without any mistake. Once he entered his sixteenth year of age, by then Nagan grew old and found it difficult to take up the hard task of hunting. The hunter's chief received many complaints about Nagan. So Nagan told him that “chief I am unable to hunt animals because I am grew old so I send my son to take up the task of hunting.” heard this they were happily accepted though they felt sorry that they all missing their nice leader. Nagan consulted with a hunters astrologer for an auspicious day for his son's first hunting and he performed nice pooja activities to god and sent Thinnan according to his origin. Thinnan happily started his hereditary occupation and in a due course he became very familiar to the hunter's community.

One day Thinnan started his work early in the morning and went to the forest. There was a wild bore was escaping from him so he was chasing it. It ran fast and hid somewhere and he could not find it, so sadly when he was returning to his place by a path through bilava vanam happen to see a Siva lingam covered with flowers and also all the offerings scattered out so he felt sad and he cleaned all with his arrow and went for hunting and caught a rabbit and took with him and went to near by a water source and took his mouthful of water came to lingam and spit water on the deity and put the flesh of rabbit near by Siva lingam and went.

A brief description how the lingam emerged in that particular place? The Kalahasthi Mahatmiyam says, Once devi parvathi wished to learn panchakshari (Means Five letters) on lord so she took as a human being and she was doing severe penance in Bilwa vanam (Vanam means forest), Lord wished to test her penance so he became huge in size and create a heavy water source with its turbulently terrible flood and it covered over Parvathi devi's head , yet she did not move from the place, seen that he was doing more and more horrifying trouble to her but she did not move and her attention was steady on her penance she did not bother of any hindrance So Lord impressed with the unshakable constancy, Lord Siva appeared in front of her and fulfilled her desire of understanding the Siva Panchakshari hymn from lord himself. Then she emerged and appeared in her unique physical radiance and incomparable intellectual name as Gnana Prasunambika. Because she did penance for knowledge so (Gnan means knowledge, prasuna means born Ambika means goddess )She incarnated for (Gnanam) so she earned the name Gnanaprasunambika Lord Siva stayed with Devi forever as her wish in that place..

In the previous birth Thinnan was one of the pandava brothers Arjuna, when he was doing penance on Lord Siva for 'Pasupathasthiram' the Lord wished to test his stable mind so Lord and Parvathi changed as a hunters and Moogasura as a wild bore so lord asked the bore to distract his penance, as lords instruction bore given Arjuna lots of distractions, he was bearing of all provocation, but at one stage he could not tolerate and lost his patience he took an arrow from his bag and shot the bore, at the same time Lord as a hunter also shot an arrow the same time stuck the both the arrows on the bore. They both were quarreling that who shot the bore first, soon they started to fight each other Arjuna did not tire. At last Arjuna recognized Lord so he asked pardon to the Lord and the lord showed his own appearance and told Arjuna to ask two his wished boons. Arjuna asked two wishes one was the pasupatastram the another is gods realization. Lord Siva said the first his wish pasupathastram will be granted immediately, but the realization the Lord said to him that he will get by his next birth in Kaliyuka so as the gods boon Arjuna got pasupatastram then he reborn as Thinnan to a hunter family.

Previously there was a Siva yogi was doing puja performance to the Lord as it the next day the Siva yogi came to do worship the Lord but he saw all clumsy in the place with blood strain and stale meat, very sadly he cleaned the place and did abishegam with milk and some things for anointment to the lord then he offered some neivadyam and went home. Soon after he went Thinnan came and the same way he cleaned the place with his arrow and he did the same way of devotion. This time he brought some wild cooked animal meat, as this kind of thing was happening every day. The Siva yogi got irritably annoyed about this action so he told to the Lord “O Lord what kind of sin I did to see you with this kind of unrighteous way of abuse you? My Lord you are ultimately greatest in the world whoever did unknowing cause this kind of sin kindly pardon him” saying this yogi to begin to clean the place. During the cleaning work there was an aerial voice said “O zealously fervent devotee tomorrow watch then you recognize the truth.“ Siva yogi heard this and very happily expecting the event finished his work and he went off

The Lord Siva wished to reveal Tinnan's ardent devotion to the world. Siva yogi unusually came to perform puja once he finished his puja he hidden himself without finding any one. Thinnan as usual came to the lord but a little late this time he brought cooked deer by dry heat came in and said “O swamy are you very hungry?I am sorry I am a little late because get delayed to cook saying this and went as usual he took some mouthful of water some bilwa leaves in his two hand and came spit on Lord and put the bilwa leaves and said” swamy already it is late take food that I brought for you.”All of sudden he noticed waterwas oozing from Lords right eye as soon as he saw that he ran to the forest and brought some herbal leaves and just he munch nicely and took out from his mouth and applied lords eyes the water stopped but bleeding started from Siva's same eye he worried and thought to do treat the same way with the herbs but the bleeding did not stop he could not do any thing and he was state of mental strain, nervousness, high-strung he was struggling for a second just he took sharp arrow and took of his own eye and applied on Lord Siva's eyes the bleeding is stopped then unfortunately he saw the lords left eye started to bleed he said to Lord “O swamy you need not worry, I know the remedy to stop this “ spoken like this he marked the bleeding eye with his leg standing with one leg he took off his right eye and offered to his bleeding eye. Saw this Sivacharriar become stunned to see this action. Lord Siva with Sakthi appeared in front of Thinnan and said “Thinna I bless you to have your eye sight with knowledge because you offered your eyes to me so from now on you are called as Kannappa you will attain liberation. No comparison than your true and pure devotion in this world. Then Lord called Sivayogi and said “O devotee come you also saw the Kannappa's unconditional devotion I tell you who is this Thinnappa he was Arjuna in his previous birth as My boon he born as a hunter and now he attained liberation. Siva yogi said that “O lord I withdrawn my blunt knowledge I too attained to your aboard. Siva Sakthi disappeared . Even today one can see in Kalahasti temple Kannappa Nayanar is kept Lord Siva's right side in sanctum

Message:

Bhakti is two kinds, one is knowledgeable devotion which is chanting Eswara hymns and archana, doing all rituals. The another is senseless or insensible devotion. Some people will not know any of the formalities but they are very attached to god and unconditional lovable devotion to the Lord, "The most elevated, pure love for God" that is Kannappa Nayanars devotion to words Lord Siva. He offered his own eyes to Lord. He did not think that he will be blind witch is called unselfish service, secondly he beautifully managed the situation, Teaching from this story is really excellent with virtuous excellence to understanding the time, presence of mind, immediate vicinity; proximity: if one has crucial situation how to manage. God never ask any of formalities he loves only pure and unconditional lovable devotion. The aspirant devotee is encouraged to passionate affection with lives "social welfare" and "religious rituals" purely dedication, stands on service to God and reaching the perfection of life.".

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