One should not take pride in one’s birth as a human being, because even animals and birds have attained moksha by being devoted to Lord Siva, said T. Rajarathinam, in a discourse. It is said that a cow worshipped Lord Siva in the temple of Tirunanipalli, in Tamil Nadu. The legend goes that this cow was for awhile assigned the duties of Brahma as a result of worshipping Lord Siva.
The story of King Muchukunda shows how a monkey was blessed by the Lord. When Lord Siva was with Parvati, in His abode — Mount Kailash — a monkey sprinkled some bilva leaves on the Divine Couple. In its next birth, the monkey was born as King Muchukunda.
Muchukunda helped Indra in a battle against a demon. Muchukunda was planning to build a temple for Lord Siva and he asked Indra to give him the Somaskanda idol that he (Indra) was worshipping. But Indra did not want to part with the idol. So he placed six identical idols before Muchukunda asking him to choose the one he wanted. Lord Siva helped Muchukunda choose the right one, which Muchukunda installed in the temple he built at Tiruvarur. Thus a monkey was blessed in its next birth with the boon of building a temple for the Lord, because it had pleased Him with a simple act of worship, namely, the sprinkling of sacred leaves over the Lord.
A gandhvarva who was cursed by Sage Durvasa became a bird and worshipped Lord Siva in a temple and attained moksha. In Kalahasti, a spider, an elephant and a snake are said to have worshipped Lord Siva. The spider would weave a web round the Linga to protect it from dust. The snake would place a precious gem before the Linga, while the elephant would fetch water in its trunk and anoint the Linga with the water. In the Viralimalai temple, it is said that plants worship God. There is a temple in Tamil Nadu where a squirrel, a monkey and a crow worshipped Lord Siva and the temple itself takes its name after them.
