In the city of Karuvur lived a devotee of Lord Siva, called Eripatha Nayanar, whose devotion was revealed to the world by Lord Siva, said R. Narayanan in a discourse. There also lived in Karuvur another devotee of the Lord whose name was Sivakamiyandar. One day, Sivakamiyandar was on his way to the temple with a basket of flowers to offer to the Lord. The King’s royal elephant was passing that way. The elephant snatched the basket from Sivakamiyandar’s hands and flung it down, thereby scattering the flowers. The king’s guards managed to bring the elephant under control, but Sivakamiyandar was heart-broken because he had no flowers to offer to the Lord.
Eripathar, who came that way, saw the weeping Sivakamiyandar, and asked him what the matter was. Sivakamiyandar tearfully narrated the sequence of events. Angered at what had happened, Eripathar struck down the elephant and the king’s guards. News reached the king that the royal elephant and his guards had been killed. The king wanted revenge and he rushed to the spot. When he found that it was a devotee of Lord Siva who had resorted to such a violent act as killing, he was shocked. Eripathar explained that his anger was because of the sorrow caused to a devotee of Lord Siva. The King then fell at the feet of Eripathar, and said, “Kill me too.”
Eripathar was moved by the king’s humility and piety, and was full of remorse. He picked up the king’s sword and was about to cut off his own head, but the king held on to Eripathar’s hands to prevent him from doing so. Eripathar, however, was bent on killing himself. Finally, Lord Siva’s voice was heard telling them that the whole thing was just His way of showing the world the extent of their devotion.
