Ilayankudi Mara Nayanar (இளையான்குடி மாற நாயனார்)
Birth place: Ilayankudi
Star: Aavani Magam
A rich farmer in Ilayankudi, Maran had the good habit of
feeding the devotees of Shiva every day. Years rolled by, Maran lost all his
property and became very poor. Even then he continued to feed at least one
devotee every day. It came to a stage that one rainy day he and his wife did
not have any food to eat the whole day and went to sleep starving.
Lord Shiva took the form of a devotee and knocked at Maran’s
door. Maran opened the door and welcomed the devotee. It was obvious that the
guest was hungry and there was not a single grain of rice at home. Maran
requested the devotee to rest for some time until the food was prepared.
Maran went to the fields and collected the rice grains sown
for cultivation which were floating in rain water. He also plucked some greens
in the backyard and came back home. When he came to know that there was no
firewood to light a fire for cooking, he removed the wood from the roof and
asked his wife to use it as firewood. Maran’s good wife prepared food and Maran
woke the devotee up requesting him to have the food. The devotee disappeared
and Lord Shiva along with Goddess Parvathi gave darshan to the Maran couple and
blessed them with mukti.
At the Ilayankudi Shiva temple, there is a sannidhi for Mara
Nayanar and the street he used to live in Ilayankudi is called Maran Street
even today.
I have not heard this story before. Very interesting. And reading about miracles gives one so much hope in life! Thank you for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThere are many stories stressing the importance of feeding devotees before taking the food.It is said that one will have to wait at the door for the time taken to milk a cow looking for some some athithi.But Mara nayanar with practicallly nothing in possession fed the devoteeseven with hardship and earned the mukthi he richly deserved.Thanks for the post with a message
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