The king, queen and the minister adored the grace of God and devotion of Tirugnana Sambandhar which brought the Pandya kingdom out of its suffering. The Jains unable to accept their defeat, were looking for opportunities to grab power again. They knew they would not be able to win any philosophical debate judged neutrally. Still trustful of the magical powers of their failed mantras, they again embarked upon establishing their philosophy. When Sambandhar asked them to put forward their views on the Truth, they asked for a debate on religion where they claimed that victory would be visible clearly. The king questioned their demand for a debate when they were not able to cure his heat disease to prove the superiority of their faith. Cleverly taking this as an opportunity to prove the greatness of their belief system, the Jain preachers asked for writing down the truths of each side on an olai (palm leaf) and putting it into a fire. The olai that did not burn in fire would decide the victorious faith. Before the king, who was now out of their web of false preaching, could reject their proposal for a continued fight, Sambandhar accepted their demand. The king ordered for the kindling of a fire in front of the court. The deva of fire, with rising flames, was ready to show the glory of his Lord. Sambandhar took out the bundle of palm leaves with his beautiful compositions on the Lord on the holy Bull and hailing Him as "Our Lord is Supreme", opened it. With his ash smeared hand, He randomly selected a devaram tirunallaru padhikam “bogamartha punmulaiyal”. Praying to the Lord of Tirunallaru, he took that palm leaf out. He sang “talarila valaroli” and put the olai in the fire, along with the dreams of his opponents. The Lord is embodied in fire, the Lord has one of his eyes as fire, the Lord dances with the fire of destruction and the Lord lords over fire itself, for such a Lord whose name is on the olai, can fire cause any damage? Instead, the olai shone green like the emerald hued left part of the Lord. The scared Jains with shivering hands put their olai with their philosophy written into the fire. 

With all the people in the assembly wondering, Sambandhar took out the leaf he had put in the fire which was intact and greener than earlier. The king then asked the Jains to take theirs out. Looking at their hesitance to touch the fire, the king ordered the quenching of the fire with water. The Jains saw that the remnants of their charred palm leaf was nothing but a small pile of ash similar to principles of their faith. The king laughed at them and asked them to go away as they lost both the challenges - first to cure him and now their “burnt” philosophy. The Jains were not done yet with embarrassing themselves, they asked for one more round of contest. The king refused to accept saying that he didn’t see any new information that warranted a new contest. But Sambandhar accepted the challenge with complete trust in the Lord's glory. This time the Jains wanted to decide victory by putting the leaf of philosophy in a river. The palm leaf that stayed afloat without getting washed away by the current would be philosophy that will be declared the highest. The minister added that whoever lost that contest would be declared the loser. The Jains intolerant, irate and mad vowed that they would impale themselves on a kazhu (sharp pointed killing column) if they lost. Sambandhar in his pearl palanquin, the king on his horse and the Jains riding dangerously on their fear reached the river Vaigai, flowing beautifully in Madurai. Seeing the great servitor of Lord Shiva, Tirugnana Sambandhar, the people of Madurai gathered hailing his devotion, his small in appearance yet marvellous deeds and the glory of the Ultimate Truth -Lord Shankara with His inseparable Shakti. They lamented the miseries they underwent under the sway of the Jains. River Vaigai was flowing in full force eager to clean the dust that had settled on the true faith of the kingdom. She was ready to participate in the historical event to demonstrate that only the faith of Lord Nilakanta can never be washed away. The king selected the part of the river where the current was at its maximum. The Jains intending to go first this time, wrote their theory “asti-nasti” ((is) there, not there) and put it into the flowing river. When the philosophy itself cannot stand the flow of time, how can a palm leaf stand the flow of the Vaigai? She carried it quickly in front of the eyes of the onlookers straight into the sea. The Jain preachers ran behind it haplessly. Unable to catch hold of their “Truth”, they returned empty handed. The Jains, though already defeated, refused to give up with the false hope that the Shaivite saint’s palm leaf would meet the same fate. Tirugnana Sambandhar, literally meaning he who is associated with Supreme knowledge, started singing the divine hymn tirupasuram to thwart the ignorance that shadowed all other philosophical schools. Beginning the hymn with “vazhga andhanar”, he extolled the brahmins, the devas and the herds of cows - the three chief participants in the Vedic worship of the Lord. Through the pathigam, he emphasised the need for not getting swayed by false arguments and illusions. Though less trodden, true devotion can definitely lead one to experience Shivam. Shivam is Grace and that Shivam removes the sufferings of devotees. (This tirupasuram is a unique hymn in that it proclaims a clear path of dharma that can be experienced. In the Tirutondar Puranam, Sekkizhar provides a magnificent commentary for this tirupasuram – verses 820 – 844 of the Tirugnana Sambandha Nayanar Puranam).

The ocean of wisdom, Tirugnana Sambandhar wrote the song on a palm leaf and placed it in the flowing river. Like the mind and progress of the disciplined does not deviate even against the strong tide of worldly pleasures, the holy hymn inscribed on the palm leaf, withstood the strong current and appeared to even go against the flow, conveying the right path for the world to follow. As the saint sang in the hymn "Let the king be raised", the Pandya king's hunchback was cured and he was able to stand upright. Thus, the king was elevated from Kunpandyan (The Pandyan with a hunch back) to the highly respected Ninrachir Nedumara Nayanar. Association with devotees always ensures progress on the spiritual path. The wick that (the Pandya king) had already soaked in the oil of the association with Mangaiyarkarasiyar and Kulachiraiyar, was lit with the devotion by saint Tirugnana Smabandhar to illuminate the entire kingdom. The humble minister followed the leaf swiftly on his horse to retrieve it. The saint sang a pathigam dedicated to Lord, ”vanniyum” to make the palm leaf stop at the Lord's abode at Tiruvedakam. The minister placed the leaf on his head joyfully, worshipped the Lord at that temple and rushed back to Sambandar. The sea of people waiting on the banks of the river roared “Hara Hara”. Some Jains who had taken the oath that they would kill themselves on the kazhu column if they lost, followed through. Those who did not want to do that, left the country. Many who realised the truth and glory of Shaivism, started worshiping Lord Shiva. The prodigy who had just won with the complete grace of the Supreme Truth gave Holy Ash to the king. The king smeared it with all humility and devotion for the ever-forgiving Lord. 

Rid of all the false belief systems, the kingdom awakened to the true path of Shaivam. With the turbulence of the mind gone, replaced by the breeze of the Grace of the elephant skin clad Lord, the people were now headed down the blissful path of Shaivam. The blooming flower at the Lord's holy feet – Tirugnana Sambandha Nayanar, who attributed all the victories only to the white ash smeared, blue-throated Lord, rushed with eagerness to salute the Lord of Tiruvalavaya. The enlightened king, the gem among womankind, the brave minister and all other devotees followed the saint to the temple. Circumambulating His abode, they entered the temple with their mind, speech and body focussed only on Him. With raised, folded hands he praised the Lord singing “vidalalavayilay” with tears streaming down, drenching the land with devotion. He declared that the primary ritual was to think of that Truth that is God with the single pointedness of the mind. The venerable king, who had won the battle of Tirunelveli, surrendered himself to the Lord adoring Him, "Hail to the Lord ! Deluded by the illusion, I failed to know you. Oh Grace! Who sent Sambandhar to bring me back to your fold!" With the heart reluctant to leave His abode, Sambandhar returned to his monastery. One day, during his stay in Madurai, his father, Shivapadahridayar arrived to see his child who had won the battle against the powerful and intolerant Jains. Welcoming his father, the beacon of Shaivam reminisced the holy feet of the Lord sitting on the boat. He sang “manninalla” praising the Lord of Sirkazhi. 

With the devoted king, queen and minister, unable to bear separation from him coming along, the saint saluted Lord Dakashinamurti at His abodes at Tiruparankunram, Apanur, Tiruputhur, Puvanam, Kanapper, Suzhiyal, Kutralam, Nelveli and many others. He adored the Remover of sins at the place Rameshwaram where Sri Rama worshipped the Lord after killing Ravana. Here he sang about the Lord’s blessed abodes in Srilanka -Tirukonamalai and Tirukedishwaram. Traveling northwards, he worshipped the Immeasurable Lord at Tiruvadanai, Punavayil and Manamerkudi, the steadfast minister's town. He asked the king, queen and minister, who were eager to travel along with him, to stay back and govern the country on the right path of Shaivam, in the name of the Great God. Then the great radiance that had illuminated the Pandya kingdom returned to the banks of Kaveri.