The splendid town of Tiruvotriyur, where the Lord of sacrifices is seated, is surrounded by high ramparts. Nearby, the sea roars like the relentless devotee chanting the Pranava! The tides try to touch the feet of the Lord and the wind like a good friend helps along those waters to the ultimate feet of the Lord in His abode. The waving areca gardens dotted the beautiful landscape. This land of the Lord of the arts was rich in many arts and crafts.

In that town, where the Lord enjoys being anointed by devotees, there was a street named Chakkara Padi, teeming with oil producers. Born here was the great devotee Kaliya Nayanar, a boon for the austerities of those people. His penance was serving the Lord, who is meditated upon even by the Supreme Vedas as the divine light, by illuminating the temple at Tiruvotriyur. Without drawing much attention, he would perform this penance at the abode of that Lord, whose three eyes are the three sources of light for the world, kindling contemplation on the Truth in the hearts of His devotees. Just like he had illuminated the temple of Lord Shiva in his heart, he lit the lamps in, out and all around that temple in a splendid way. Like the bliss in his heart, the lamps beamed with light daily in the temple. The Lord, who appeared as the infinite column of light to Brahma and Vishnu, resided in that temple enjoying the Nayanar’s service of beautifying His shrine.

The cyclic nature of the world had its effect on Kaliyar’s wealth and it steadily diminished. But this in no way eroded his resolve of service even by a bit! Unperturbed and indifferent to his material status, his heart was firmly set on the glorious feet of the Lord, which is the greatest wealth for devotees. He worked for others in the same profession, without giving any importance to his social status and used the wages he earned to continue his wonderful service. When even the rich refused to give him work for wages, the once affluent great devotee, firm in his determination to serve, started working at the oil-press. Using the wages he earned for this manual work, he bought oil for lighting lamps for the Lord and continued his brilliant service. With more people vying for work at the oil-press, he did not get enough work. He then sold all his properties to persevere with his service. Left with nothing else except his beloved wife, he put her up for sale! But there were no buyers.

Kaliyar never allowed anything to interrupt his service and was highly concerned one day when he didn’t get oil for worship. Even though the Lord does not require any lamps or food, the devotee out of love that exceeds that of a mother, who feeds and takes care of her child, experiences helplessness when his service gets disturbed by external situations. It is this great selfless love that makes the Lord enjoy the offerings. With pure devotion, the Nayanar was determined that come what may, the lamps of the temple would be lit that day. He went inside the temple of Tiruvotriyur with a resolve. In place of oil, he had decided to use his own blood! He started cutting his throat. The Blue throated Lord seeing this extreme determination to serve, caught his hands and stopped him. The Lord appeared with His consort on the Holy Bull at the horizon. As his wound healed instantly, the devotee’s eyes were flooded with tears of love. The Lord freed him from the bonds of rebirth and blessed him with a place in His abode. Let the glorious service of Kaliya Nayanar stay in our mind.

Guru Pooja: Adi / Kettai or Karka / Jyeshtha

Har Har Mahadev

• Birth place of kaliya nAyanAr
• The puranam of Kaliya Nayanar in English Poetry
• கலிய நாயனார் புராணம் - செய்யுள்
• கலிய நாயனார் புராணம் உரைநடை
• कलिय नायनार  दिव्य चरित्र 

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