Pattinathar, himself a saint who had completely given up every worldly attachment, praised Thiruneelakanta Nayanar, exclaiming that he could never be equal to the latter, said Sarala Rajagopal.
Thiruneelakantar was a potter, and he and his wife were pious devotees of Lord Siva, and of His bhaktas. Thiruneelakantar had one failing, though. He was guilty of marital infidelity. His wife therefore, wanted him to swear that he would never touch her, and he swore that he would never touch any woman. The years rolled by, and one day a Saivite mendicant came to their doorstep. He told Thiruneelakantar that he would be away on a pilgrimage and that Thiruneelakantar was to keep his clay bowl safe until he returned. The mendicant said that his bowl was very special, because if anything impure was put in it, the bowl would purify it. Thiruneelakantar and his wife kept it safe, and when the yogi returned, he asked for his bowl. But Thiruneelakantar and his wife discovered that the bowl had disappeared! Thiruneelakantar offered to make a new bowl for the yogi, but the yogi was adamant and unwilling to accept a new bowl, even if it was made of gold. The yogi said Thiruneelakantar was enacting a drama and he had the bowl hidden away somewhere and was unwilling to part with it.
The angry sage said that Thiruneelakantar would have to prove his innocence by taking a dip in the pond, holding his son’s hand. Thiruneelakantar said he had no children, whereupon, the yogi took his complaint to the learned men of Chidambaram. They told Thiruneelakantar to hold his wife’s hand and take a dip in the pond. He would then be presumed innocent. But Thiruneelakantar had sworn not to touch any woman, and he had no intention of breaking his oath. So he held one end of a stick and his wife held the other end, and together they took a dip in the pond. When they emerged from the pond, everyone noticed that a miraculous thing had happened. The couple had regained their youth! The yogi, who was none other than Lord Siva Himself, disappeared, and Lord Siva and Goddess Parvathi appeared before the couple and blessed them. Thus even when his integrity was in doubt, Thiruneelakantar did not violate the oath he had taken in the name of Lord Siva.
