The Story of Arivattaya Nayanar

In the Chozha kingdom, in a village called Ganamangalam, lived a farmer named Arivattaya Nayanar. He was a devout follower of Shiva, and his daily ritual was to offer the god a meal of the best rice, fresh spinach, and tender mangoes.

To test his devotion, Shiva slowly took away the Nayanar's wealth. The Nayanar's fortune dwindled, but his dedication never faltered. He began working for others and would use the finest grains he earned to prepare Shiva's meal, while his family ate the leftover, lower-quality rice. Eventually, due to a drought, he lost even this work.

Determined to continue his service, the Nayanar and his wife sold everything they owned—their house, their belongings, and her jewelry—to buy the ingredients for Shiva's daily offering. They became impoverished but never once considered stopping their ritual.

One day, as the Nayanar was carrying the basket of food to the temple, he was so weak from starvation that he stumbled and fell. The food spilled onto the ground. His wife, who was walking behind him with other holy offerings, also tripped and dropped what she was carrying.

The Nayanar was heartbroken, not because he was hungry, but because he had failed to make his daily offering to Shiva. Overcome with despair, he took out his dagger, intending to end his life. Just as he was about to cut his neck, he heard a divine voice say, "Please stop!" The sound was accompanied by the sound of someone eating the tender mango he had spilled.

Shiva appeared before him, holding his hand. The god praised his and his wife's unwavering devotion and blessed them both. He healed the small wound on the Nayanar's neck and granted them a place in his eternal home. Because of his readiness to sacrifice his neck (arival), the farmer's story is remembered, and he became known as Arivattaya Nayanar, a name that forever honors his extreme dedication.