Page:The story of saiva saints.pdf/38

Rh head of the Lord. The Saint felt very sorry for what had happened. The Lord from that day placed a gold coin every day as subsistancesubsistence [sic] allowance. The Saint continued his service in the sanctuary and attained the Feet of Lord Siva.

This Saint was a Vellala by Caste and he lived in Thiru Nattiyaththankudi. He was a commander of an army of the Chola king. He used to store paddy for oblation to Siva. Once while he left for a battle field, he instructed his kith and kin that they should not use the paddy for their personal needs and that the paddy should be used exclusively for oblation to the Lord. He issued this order under the command “Thiruviraiyakkali”. After a few days there was a famine. His relatives infringed the oath and used the paddy. The Saint returned and came to know of the violation of his command. He gathered all his relatives under some pretext and killed everyone who used the paddy. A child alone was left and he killed it also saying that it would have suckled the milk of its mother. By the grace of the Lord all were brought back to life and the Saint was blessed by the Lord.

They are pious persons who render service to Siva and His devotees. They worship the devotees of Siva. They witness the worship of Lord Siva in the temples. They render service to Lord Siva. They cause Aruchchanai. They hear the stories of the Lord with rapt attention. They engage themselves in uninterrupted meditation. Whether they stand or sit, walk or remain quiet, eat or sleep, they always meditate on the Feet of Siva. if they collect money from public donation for rapairsrepairs [sic] to temples etc., they spend to the last paise towards those purposes only. These eight are the characteristic features of the Bhaktas or pious persons.