Thayumanavar was a minister in the court of the Nayak King Chokkanatha. One day, he crumbled a palm leaf manuscript that he had been reading. Those around him were shocked, because it was an important manuscript pertaining to administrative affairs. They asked him why he had crushed the manuscript. He said, “The garment of Goddess Akilandeswari in the Thiruvanaikka temple has caught fire. I wanted to put out the fire, and while trying to do so, I didn’t notice that I had crushed the palm leaf manuscript.” The men were puzzled. How could Thayumanavar know about a fire in the temple, when he was not there?
And even assuming he did know of a fire, how could he put out the fire when he was not present in the temple? How could a fire be put out by someone far away from the scene? The men did not believe Thayumanavar’s explanation, said Malayaman, in a discourse. They thought he had lost his sanity. They decided to inform the king about what had happened. When they reached the palace, a messenger came to the king with the news that the garment of the Goddess had caught fire, but had also miraculously died out on its own. The king guessed that Thayumanavar must have been responsible for the fire being put out. His respect for Thayumanavar increased.
In course of time, Thayumanavar renounced worldly life and became a sanyasi. He wore only a loin cloth. Even in winter, he did not use winter clothing. Moved by the sight of the sanyasi with no winter clothing, the king gave a shawl to Thayumanavar.
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Some days later, the king noticed a woman wearing the shawl. “Why did you give that shawl to her?” he asked Thayumanavar. The saint replied, “I saw Goddess Akilandeswari shivering in the cold, and I presented the shawl to her,” showing that he saw God in everyone.