In Chidambaram, on the day of Arudra Darsan, a gruel known as Thiruvadhirai Kali, is offered to the deity, and in a discourse, K. Sambandan explained the significance of this. Pattinathar was a rich merchant, who took to sanyas. Following his instru ctions, Sendanar, who was his accountant, distributed all of Pattinathar’s wealth to the poor. The Chola King wanted the wealth to go to the royal treasury, and so he was angered by Sendanar’s act. He imprisoned Sendanar. Pattinathar’s prayers to God resulted in the shackles breaking and Sendanar came out of prison.
Sendanar then moved to Chidambaram, where he chopped and sold firewood for a livelihood. His was a tough occupation, and yet even with the meagre income he had, he would provide a good meal to at least one devotee of Lord Siva every day. One day, the Lord came to Sendanar’s house, in the guise of a devotee. Unfortunately, Sendanar had not sold anything that day, and had no grain at home. All he had were a few broken grains. Unwilling to send the devotee away, Sendanar made some gruel (kali) using the broken rice grains, and served it to the devotee. The latter, having eaten some of what was offered, asked if he could take away the rest. Sendanar agreed, and the devotee spread a cloth and gathered what was left of the gruel, and left. Lord Siva, who had come there as a devotee, now entered the Chidambaram temple, scattering the gruel in the temple, and disappeared into the sanctum sanctorum.
The next day was Arudra Darsan, and when the temple priests arrived and saw the scattered gruel, they wondered who had scattered it there. When the chariot had to be pulled, with the processional deity seated in it, it would not move even an inch. A voice was then heard, which said the chariot would move only if Sendanar sang in praise of Siva. The priests searched for and found Sendanar and brought him to the temple, where he sang verses in praise of Siva. The chariot then moved. Since Sendanar had served the Lord a simple meal of gruel, and the Lord had honoured him by refusing to move without hearing his verses first, to this day, on Arudra Darsan, gruel made of rice is served to the Lord.
