MANAKANCHARA NAYANAR

[Ms Tercy Lonan]

12. MANAKANCHARA NAYANAR
Kancharur was a fertile place in the Chola kingdom. The people were all Siva Bhaktas. In
this place there lived a staunch devotee of Lord Siva by name Manakancharanar. He was a Vellala
by caste. He was a hereditary Senathipathi. People of the community had the highest regard for him.
He was a contemporary of Sundaramurthi Nayanar. To him adoration of Siva Bhaktas was the
highest form of worship of the Lord. He would read their minds from their look, and would serve
them without their asking.
He had no children for a long time. He worshipped Siva with faith and devotion and
obtained the boon of a daughter from Him. Nayanar celebrated the birth of this divine child, with a
lot of charity. In due time, the girl attained the marriageable age. She was engaged to be married to
Eyarkon Kalikamar who was also an earnest and sincere devotee of the Lord. The date of the
wedding had been fixed and all arrangements made.
In the mean time, Lord Siva wanted to shower His supreme grace on the Nayanar. He took
the form of a Maha-Vrathiar (man of great vow) who wears the sacred ash on his forehead, matted
locks adorned with a garland of bones, and a sacred thread made of human hair on his chest. The
Maha-Vrathiar appeared before Manakancharanar who received him with great delight. When the
ascetic enquired about the cause of the festive appearance of the house, Nayanar explained that his
daughter was to wed that clay. He asked the girl to bow to the ascetic and receive his blessings. The
ascetic saw her flowing hair, and said: ‘Oh noble soul, I am delighted to see her hair. This can be
conveniently made into a Panchavati (the thread that adorns my chest).’ At once, Nayanar took a

knife and, without thinking for a moment, cut the hair on his daughter’s head and handed it to the
ascetic. In his extreme devotion to the Siva Yogi, he did not even consider the fact that he was
disfiguring his only daughter, and that the bridegroom might refuse to accept her. The Lord in the
form of the ascetic immediately disappeared. He gave Nayanar and his family Darshanam along
with Mother Parvathy and blessed them.
Eyarkon Kalikamar, the bridegroom, and his party arrived there soon after, and came to
know of all that had happened. He was sorry that he had not come earlier and had the Lord’s
Darshan. When he saw the disfigured bride and hesitated to accept her, Lord Siva, the Indweller,
understood the cause, and restored the hair to her head. Nayanar and his family were very happy and
proceeded with the wedding.