There was an old lady. Not at all rich. She had no kith or kin to take care of her in that very old age. All she had was only one. The chokkan (Name of Lord shiva in the madhurai temple.). Neither was she a scholar nor did she any ritualistic worship. She earned her basic needs from selling a sweet ball calledputtu. All her worship was - everyday before opening the shop and selling the delicious puttu she made, she would offer it to the chokkan. This offering was much more than something shown to the God to bless. She with the heart fully cooked with devotion would call that chokkan about whom many philosophies say very many different things and still could not explain in total but who is for her the beloved Lord shiva simple for the selfless love. To that chokkan she would feed the tasty puttu. It would not be with the vEda mantras, it would not be with the scriptural rituals. But it was with the care that shows up in the closeness. The puttu she offered were more than honey balls. They were dipped in the good honey of her devotion that is a delicacy that can not be got from any beehive. So probably the Lord wanted to taste that in person.

Once when He wanted to get the embracement of devotion from shakti she flooded the kambai river. Now it was the turn of river vaigai. The river started running with flood as if with the vengeance to sink the pANdiya capital itself. The king, worried, summoned at least one person per house to reinforce the embankments on the river to control its wrath. With no body to support her and she not in a position to do that hard physical work whom can she call ? She appealed to her beloved chokkan to take her out of that difficult position. The Lord was probably waiting, who knows !! It, which does not get revealed easily to even the sages who sit for ages meditating on It, came out for a simple love that was unshakable. The Almighty came as a laborer. Not knowing it was her Lord, but thinking it was His grace, van^dhip pAtti employed Him with puttu as the wage. The Lord who was offered the whole puttu everyday took just the ones that were broken into granular size, sat and ate them enjoying it. Even the dEvas gave Him only the poison, but this old lady fed Him with the delicious puttu !

He went to the river bank started playing and slept there !! He is commanding the entire world, who can command Him ? Since He did not work the reinforcements done in the adjacent portions by others were also flushed away by the flood. The king came furious and bet the Laborer with the stick in his hand. Is He a normal person to get beaten and lament in pain ? The stroke that landed in the Omni-present's back was felt by every creature in the entire world. The Lord was not seen. The flood got controlled. The king realized. The old great simple lady van^dhi's feelings were unexplainable. The Lord who is called dEvadEva since without It the entire celestial powers cannot exist, came to her hut doorstep and having puttu she offered, got the beat from the king also for her devotion !!! She got His covetable feet. The devotion, whether simple or not, when strong, selfless, stretching to the possible way of expressing and directed on Him, the prize is Lord shiva.

Ref:
1. pittukku maN chuman^dha padalam - thiruviLaiyAdal purANam. 

Posted On : 05.01.1998