By Swami Sivananda
Meyporul Nayanar was a pious king. He ruled over the hill tribes of Sethi. He was chivalrous and brave. He fought many battles and was always victorious. There was peace and plenty in his kingdom. People worshipped him as the living God.
Meyporul Nayanar was well versed in the Agamas. He was an ardent devotee of the Lord. To him Siva and His devotees, adorned with matted locks, rudraksham and sacred ashes represented the only truth — Absolute Truth — and all the rest of the world was straw. He saw everything as Siva-mayam ('everything but Siva is an illusion'). Siva Bhaktas enjoyed absolute freedom in his country — they were honoured by the king and the people alike. Though he ruled the kingdom as the king, Meyporul's mind was always at the Lord's feet. On a daily basis, special prayers and festivals were conducted in the temples in Meyporul's realm.
Meyporul's fame soon spread far and wide. This evoked the jealousy of Muthanathan, the king of the neighbouring state. He collected a big army and attacked Meyporul several times; but he was repeatedly defeated. So, Muthanathan resorted to foul-play.
One day, he disguised himself as a Siva yogi (for he knew that Meyporul had supreme devotion to Siva bhaktas) and entered the palace at night. The gate-keepers did not question him, but allowed him to proceed.
Dathan, the faithful and intelligent servant of Meyporul, was guarding the bedroom in which the king was sleeping. When the Siva yogi approached the bedroom, Dathan tried to dissuade him from disturbing the king's sleep — but the yogi refused to listen, saying, "I have some secret shastra to teach the king. I cannot wait."
So, Dathan had to allow the yogi to enter the bedroom of the king, though he was a little suspicious. Meyporul's wife got up and, finding a Siva yogi in the room, quickly awakened her husband.
The Siva yogi told the king that the shastra was a great secret, revealed by the Lord Himself, and that only the king was entitled to hear it.
At once, the king sent even the queen away and prostrated before the yogi, ready to receive the secret. At that moment, the Siva yogi, who was none else than the jealous king Muthanathan, quickly stabbed Meyporul on his back, with a knife he had kept hidden.
At that time, the shrewd Dathan, as he entered the room, found the king on the floor in a pool of blood and Muthanathan with a knife in his hand. He was ready to strike down Muthanathan, when the dying Meyporul said, "Datha, he is our man. He has the appearance of a Siva yogi and so must be honoured as one. Do not harm him. Kindly escort him to the borders of our kingdom, and see that he is unharmed."
Dathan obeyed the commands of his master. As he was escorting Muthanathan, the people who had heard what happened went to attack Muthanathan, but, as soon as Dathan told them of the king's commands, they withdrew, admiring the supreme devotion of their king. Thus, Muthanathan was safely escorted out of the kingdom.
Dathan then hastened back to the
palace to convey this news to the dying king who was eagerly waiting for it.
As soon as Dathan conveyed the news to the king, Meyporul called all his Ministers and relatives to his bedside, and spoke to them as follows, "It is our duty to serve Siva bhaktas. They must be honoured and worshipped at all times and under all circumstances. Let our people walk in the footsteps of the Siva bhaktas. Let the country be flooded with Siva bhaktas. By their blessings, let peace and prosperity reign in our land."
With these words, he closed his eyes and meditated on Lord Siva. The Lord at once appeared before him and blessed him, "I am immensely pleased with your devotion, cosmic love, and your unquestioning devotion to my bhaktas. Even in a murderer you saw Me. You are, therefore, fit to reach the highest abode which even the Devas cannot hope to reach."
With these words the Lord disappeared and Meyporul (whose very name meant — "one for whom God was the sole reality") attained God Siva's abode.
References:
Sekkilaar, and G. Vanmikanathan. Periya Puranam — A Tamil Classic On The Great Saiva Saints of South India. Ed. Dr. N. Mahalingam. Chennai: Sri Ramakrishna Math, 2000.
Sivananda, Swami. Sixty-Three Nayanar Saints. World Wide Web edition. India: Divine Life Society, 1999.
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