Meipporul Nayanar ruled over the kingdom of Chethi, the capital of which was Thirukkoyilur. Meipporul Nayanar was a great devotee of Lord Siva, and treated devotees of the Lord with utmost respect. Whenever devotees visited his palace, he would honour them. But even the best of men have enemies. And a king called Muthanathan was jealous of Meipporul Nayanar. He was unable to defeat the valorous Meipporul Nayanar in battle. So, he resorted to trickery, said M.A. Manickavelu, in a discourse. Meipporul Nayanar would never turn away any devotee of Lord Siva, and so Muthanathan disguised himself as a devotee of the Lord. He smeared his face and body with holy ash and sported matted hair. He picked up a bundle of manuscripts, and hid a knife in this bundle. He then went to Thirukkoyilur, seeking an audience with the king. When Muthanathan arrived, Meipporul Nayanar was asleep, and the guard Thathan refused to allow him in. But when the mendicant insisted, the guard woke up the king, who was only too glad to receive the devotee. Muthanathan said that he had a rare Saiva agama text, which he would share only with the king. The king then asked his queen to leave. He sat at the feet of the fake devotee, ready to listen to him. Now that the king was alone, Muthanathan stabbed him with the hidden knife. The loyal guard Thathan, who had had his doubts about the visitor, rushed in and when he saw that the king had been stabbed, he raised his sword to kill Muthanathan. But Meipporul Nayanar said, “Do not hurt this devotee of Siva. Escort him to the border of our country safely.” Only when Thathan came back and told him that Muthanathan had reached the border safely, did Meipporul Nayanar breathe his last. Thus, this Nayanar treated even his enemies with kindness.
