GREAT SIVA BHAKTA – KANNAPPA NAAYANAAR : A STORY FROM PERIAPURANAM

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GREAT SIVA BHAKTA – KANNAPPA NAAYANAAR : A STORY FROM PERIAPURANAM

Periapuranam was the first religious book gone through by

Sri Ramana. The book gives a moving account of the deep love, utter

self-sacrifice and sublime communion with the Lord, which marked the

lives of sixty-three Tamil saints. As he read on, says B.V.

Narasimha Swami, the first biographer of Sri Ramana, ` surprise,

admiration, awe, reverence, sympathy and emulation swept over his

soul in succession, thus paying a momentary homage to the grand

ideals and ideas that had charmed the hearts and engaged the minds

of his countrymen for centuries'.

 

The tribe to which Kannappa belonged engaged themselves in hunting

and practicing cruelty on animals. The tribe had a chieftain named

Naaga. He married a lady from another hill tribe. Their great and

long-standing desire to have a child was fulfilled through worship

at the shrine of Lord Muruga. The child being heavy to bear in hands

was hailed as `the doughty one' [Thinnan], which eventually became

his name.

 

He was such a courageous and strong boy that one-day he thrust his

hands into the jaws of a tiger and came out unhurt. He also became a

great expert in archery. As the chief of the tribe grew weak with

the passing year, Thinnan, a dedicated Siva Bhakta, became the next

chief. He and his tribesmen engaged themselves in fierce hunting.

Once they had to face a roaring bear with sharp teeth. Thinnan

decided to pursue it. The bear fled far away and stood at the base

of a hill. Thinnan strode towards the hill where he found a Siva

temple, which was being maintained by a local Brahmin.

 

Thinnan wanted to offer food and water to Lord Siva. But the only

water he had was his saliva and the food was the animal flesh. Next

day, the priest on his arrival was shocked to find meat scattered

over the Lingam and he cursed the person who did this defilement. He

cleaned the Lingam, went to take bath and came back. He worshipped

the Lord in his usual way and went home. After he left, Thinnan

worshipped the Lord again in his way.

 

The priest hid himself to find the ` culprit.' He saw Thinnan doing

his usual worship with great devotion. In order to show the depth of

Thinnan's worship to the priest, the Lord made the blood come out of

His eye. As Thinnan could not bear the sight of his beloved Lord, he

pulled out one of his eyes and put it in Siva's image. Now the

bleeding started from the other eye of the Lord's image. After

losing his one eye Thinnan could see only with the other eye and so

he put his left leg to mark the place of the eye in the image and

then was to pull out his second eye as well to put it in place of

the bleeding eye of the Lord. Suddenly, he heard the Lord's voice

calling him to stop. And then as the Lord appeared himself, both the

priest and Thinnan fell at His feet. The Lord blessed them and

restored the eye of Thinnan.

 

Thinnan came to be known as Kannappan, which means one who gave his

eyes to the Lord.

 

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

 

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram