madurai meenakshi temple
Sugarcane to Stone Elephant The sacred confines of the temple find mention again in another episode of the Thiruvilaiyaadal. Shiva comes disguised as a mendicant performing a lot of miracles in the temple. World of His deeds reaches the king, who summons Him for an audience. Shiva promptly ignores the summon, saying that His place is only amongst the devotees. Enraged the king himself comes to the temple and challenges Him to show him His prowess. He takes a sugarcane and asks the Mendicant to feed one of the stone elephants that stand around the Sanctum. The Lord promptly offers it to the stone elephant, which to the surprise and utter amazement of all present, comes alive, trumpets loudly, extends its trunk to take the sugarcane and proceeds to eat it. Finally it turns back to stone, by which time the Pandya King realizes the true identity of the Mendicant and falls at His feet. Having accomplished His task the Lord disappears after showering His blessings on the king.
Saivite Savants (Naalvar) The Thevaaram trinity, namely Thiru Gnaanasambandhar, Thirunaavukkarasar and Sundarar during the seventh and eighth centuries paved the way for the spread of Saivism. Their discovery of its deep rooted traditions threw light on the entire culture itself. In their piligrimages in TamilNadu, they had visited all Saivite shrines with ancient traditions and sung hymns in praise of the presiding deity. Koon pandian alias Nedumaaran the pandiyan ruler was converted to Jainism. With royal patronage, Jainism spread its net and fro its effective propagation, Jain monks had camped in the eight hillocks around Madurai. To prevent Saivism’s total eclipse Queen Mangayarkkarasiar and Minister Kulachirayar invited Saint Gnaanasambandhar to visit them at Madurai.
The saint visited Madurai, prayed to the deity and performed a lot of miracles. The king understood that all these could happen only with the divine blessings of Lord Shiva. Upon seeing all these miraculous deeds and realizing the powers of Saivism, the king reconverted to the Saiva fold. Thiruneetru Padhigam of Thiru Gnana Sambanthar The ten hymns about the sanctity and powers of the sacred ash (Thiruneeru) is a unique contribution to Tamil Devotional Literature. Although it is easily understood, simple and lucid ther is a central theme covering the elements of Saiva theology, in their proper and logical order. Once can easily miss it if not properly studied. The hymn is in praise of the sacred ash.
King Nedumaaran was suffering from serious stomach ache and all the medics could not cure it. Thiu Gnaanasambandar applied the sacred ash which miraculously cured the painful disease he was suffering from. This powerful miracle inspired the king to change over from Jainism to Saivism. From beginning to end this padhigam deals with life from a larger perspective. In the language of Saivites the term sacred ash (Thiruneeru) represents a multi dimensional life-symbol of the individual spirit, all the time seeking to discover its relationship amidst the laws and forces of earthly life, with universal spirit. Here the word sacred ash (thiruneeru) repeatedly occurs in a formula as it were, carrying a connotation of an inner force struggling to reach and mingling with the universal spirit.