User:Erksharma/pattinathar

PATTINATHAR (PATTINATHU ADIGAL)

Pattinathar (tamil:பட்டினதார்) popularly known as pattinathu adigal was a mystic/saint who lived in South India several years ago. He was a devotee of lord shiva and attained his jeeva samadhi in the place called thiruvotiyoor in Chennai. He was a wandering monk who used to beg for his day to day living and preach the people on how to get rid of the maya and reach the supreme self.It is believed that kubera the lord of wealth requested lord shiva for going to earth and worhip him in all his temples. Hence kubera was born as Pattinathar who detached himself from the maya bondage and worshipped all shiva temples and attained jeeva samadhi

LIFE STORY

Pattinathar’s real name was thiruvengadar. He was born in kaveripoompattinam to a wealthy merchant couple named sivaneasn and gnanakalai. Thiruvengadar had a elder sister too. The story starts like this – for a long time the couples did not have a boy and they prayed the lord for a male child. Then they worshipped the lord shiva in the place thiruvengadu and with his grace a child was born, hence the name thiruvengadar is suited to the child. Thiruvengadar got a name pattinathu chettiyar as he was very famous in his merchandise.

Thiruvengadar was married to a girl sivakalai and they started a righteous life. Despite more wealth they did not have a child to take care of them. Hence the couple prayed to lord shiva for a child. Once the couple was praying in the mahalingeshwarar temple in thiruvidaimarudhur they adopted a child from a poor priest and they gave him gold equal to the weight of the child as thus the child was named marudavanan who was the lord himself.

Marudavanan grew as a good man and was respected for his knowledge and his skill on merchandising who was better than his father.He was very knowledgle that he could able to identify a good pearl from the the fake even in his age of ten.Once marudavanan conveyed his wish to go abroad along with his friends for trading. Initially thiruvengadar did not agree but marudavanan convinced them and started for a high sea trading. there he visisted many places and traded a lot of items. Once they reached an island and he requested his friensd to leave him here and pick him up again after they have finished their business.

All his friends traded for costly items and money but marudavanan has sacks of virati(dried cow dunk mainly used for burning) and rice dusts. all his friends commented him but he doesn't listen to them at all. After a long turmaoil days they reached kaveripoompattinam and thiruvengadara was happy to receive his son who was suffesfully completed his high sea trading.

To his astonishment he was only virati and rice dust and got enraged with his son and he scolded his son and asked his servants to carry all these sacks to his home. Upon reaching the home he started complaining to his wife about his child and agrily kicked off the sacks and everybody was surprised to see that the virati was full of costly gems and diamonds and the rice dusts was nothing but golden dust.He realised his mistake and asked for his son. Then his wife told him that marudavanan already left the home and he asked her to give a small wooden box to thiruvengadar.

Thiruvengadara opened the box and saw a broken needle and a small palm leaf. In the palm leaf writen the message for this father

"Kadatra oosiyum varadhukan kadai vazhikye" means which: even the broken needle would not come with you once you are dead.

These words transformed thiuvengadar and he realised the self and thus became pattinathu adigal. He robed of his costly clothes and weared an ordinary cloth on his waist, convinced his wife and gave all his wealth to charity and left the home to attain his salvation.

He roamed the streets of the kaveripoompattinam and begged for food everyday. He used to play with children by asking them to tie his leg by a rope and drag him and thus he makes fun with children and entertain them. Once his sister noticed him begging for food and felt that he has disgraced their family prestige and honour and decided to kill pattinathar. Once she called pattinathar for food and gave him an "appam" mixed with poison. Pattinathar after seeing the appam comes to know that it is being poisoned and he says - "than appam thannai sudum.....ottappam veetai sudum" which means your deeds will burn you and this appam will burn the house.... thus saying he throws them on the roof and the house starts burning. Then she realises her mistake and apologises for her mistake.

Once hecomes to know that his mother has expiried and the villagers were urging the funeral without informing pattinathar. He sees them with his divine eye and rushes to that place. He immediately takes his mother body and put them on a fresh plaintain stem and sings for his mothers atmashanthi, the body gets fired immediately and thus pattinathar gets free fomr all the bondages.

Pattinathar and Badragiyar