Nayanmars, who were devotees of Siva, sang only in praise of Siva. Azhvars, who were devotees of Vishnu, sang only in praise of Vishnu. But there is an instance of an Azhvar praising a Nayanmar! How did this come about? Who was this Azhvar and why did he do something so unusual?
V.S. Karunakarachariar answered these questions in a discourse. A spider and an elephant were both devotees of Lord Siva. While the spider spun a web over a linga, the elephant would bring water from the Cauvery and bathe the linga with it. It would also destroy the web. This happened every day. When the spider discovered that it was the elephant which ripped up its web, it stung the elephant, which died. The spider was crushed by the fall of the elephant. The place came to be called Thiruvanaikkaval, thus honouring the elephant (anai).
The spider was blessed to be born as king Kochenganaan. His birth was deliberately delayed by his mother for astrological reasons. The queen Kamalavathi exclaimed, “kochenkannano!” when she saw the baby, for the baby had red eyes (chenkann). Kochenganaan became his name. As predicted, he was victorious in all battles, until he lost one battle. Upon the advice of Neelakanta Rg Vedi, the sage who had advised Kochenganaan’s delayed birth, Kochenganaan worshipped Vishnu at Thirunaraiyur. The sage was none other than Siva. Kochenganaan received a divine sword from Vishnu and was victorious in battle again. In gratitude, he built a temple for Vishnu at Thirunaraiyur. Kochenganaan is one of the 63 Nayanmars, and he built many temples for Siva. Since he built the Thirunaraiyur Vishnu temple, Thirumangai Azhvar praises him, through nine verses, and in one verse, he records the gifting of the divine sword (deiva vaaL).
