16

Legends of the Nayanmars

the devotee was also ignored by the family members. When the
devotee, who was actually Lord Shiva in disguise, pretended to
be afraid, the chaste wife assured him not to worry and that her
husband, Iyarpagaiyar would win against all, as he has Lord
Shiva in his heart.
Finding no other means of protecting the devotee from his
angry relatives, he attacked them instead and killed them all.
He then accompanied the devotee till the towns outskirts and
left his wife with the devotee and turned back.
After he had gone a few yards, he heard the devotee calling
for him. Thinking that some more of his relatives might have
come back to harm the devotee, he rushed back. On reaching
there, he was baffled to find only his wife; the devotee had
disappeared. When he was thus perplexed, Lord Shiva appeared
in his true magnificent form accompanied by his consort
Goddess Parvati Devi and praised the couple for their pure and
selfless devotion. He blessed them and their relatives with the
glorious boon of being with him in his heavenly abode.
3. ILAYANGUDIMARA NAYANMAR
In the tiny hamlet of Ilayangudi, there lived a wealthy farmer
by the name of Ilayangudi Maranar. He and his wife were fervent
devotees of Lord Shiva. Due to his hard work and his kind heart,
he soon accumulated great wealth. He helped the devotees of
Lord Shiva generously using this wealth.
Lord Shiva decided to test the earnestness of this couples
devotion. Gradually, he caused Ilayangudi Maranar to face losses
in his crops and in due course, these successive failures, caused
his wealth to decrease steadily. In spite of his near poverty, he
continued his service to the devotees by first selling all his
worldly belongings and eventually borrowing money from