The Story of Kannappa Nayanar

In the forest kingdom of Pothappi Nadu lived a skilled hunter named Nagan and his wife, Thaththai. They longed for a child and, after praying to Lord Muruga, were blessed with a son. They named him Thinnan, meaning "strong," because of his incredible strength even as a baby.

Thinnan grew up to be a powerful hunter, learning to use a bow and arrow from his father. When he came of age, he took over as the leader of his tribe. On his first major hunting trip, Thinnan and two of his friends, Nanan and Kadan, chased a wild boar deep into the forest, eventually getting separated from the rest of the group.

The chase led them to the foot of a sacred hill known as Sri Kalahasti. There, Thinnan killed the boar. As he stood there, an overwhelming feeling came over him. Nanan explained that a shrine to Lord Shiva was at the top of the hill, and they should go pray there.

Thinnan's devotion to Shiva began at that moment. He saw a stone lingam, a symbol of Shiva, and was immediately filled with an immense love for it. Being a hunter, he didn't know the traditional ways of worship. He poured water from his mouth onto the lingam, which he had carried from a nearby river. He offered the lingam pieces of meat from his hunt, which he had first tasted to make sure they were good. He even put flowers from his hair on the lingam.

A priest who tended the shrine was horrified by these offerings, which he considered impure. He would clean the shrine every day and perform the proper rituals, only to find Thinnan's "unconventional" offerings there the next day.

One day, to show the world the depth of Thinnan’s devotion, Shiva made one of the lingam's eyes bleed. Thinnan was heartbroken. He tried everything—wiping the blood, applying medicinal herbs—but nothing worked. Remembering that "flesh for flesh" was a way to heal a wound, he used an arrow to pluck out one of his own eyes and placed it on the bleeding eye of the lingam. The bleeding stopped, and Thinnan was overjoyed.

But then, the lingam’s other eye began to bleed. To make sure he could correctly place his remaining eye on the right spot, Thinnan put his foot on the lingam to mark it. As he raised his arrow to pluck out his second eye, Shiva appeared and stopped him. Shiva was so moved by Thinnan's selfless act that he named him Kannappa, which means "he who gave his eye." He blessed Kannappa and granted him a place by his side forever, honoring his love above all rituals and traditions.