Pattinathar

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

Biography

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 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 visited 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 written 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 he comes 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 from all the bondages

Pattinathar and badragiriyar

Once Pattinathar traveled to ujjain and worshipped lord mahakaleshwar and was seated beneath the tree. On the way few thieves were rushing out with the stolen jewels from the kingdoms treasury. Upon crossing the tree, they threw a necklace on to the tree which fell on pattinathar's neck. Pattinathar was meditating and was unware of any such happening.

He was noticed by the soldiers and concluded that pattinathar was guilty of the theft so they clamped him and brought before the king badragiri. The king got enraged and ordered the soldiers to hang him up. Pattinathar was taken to the hanging place.

There pattinathar said the following words,

"Andha maram inda marathai , marathil yetra pogirathu" - means, this lifeless body is intending to punish my lifeless body

Following to that he prays the lord – oh! Lord this is not a result of any of my deeds, Its not my will at all rather I believe this is the will of the supreme self and let this hang stage started burning.

The king was shocked after hearing this incident and he rushed to pattinathar and prostrated in his leg. As a result pattinathar gives him diksha and made as disciple.From that day king badragiri became saint badragiri.

Both pattinathar and badragiri used to beg in the thiruvidaimarudur temple and share their food for living. Badragiri used to have a dong as his friend. Once lord shiva himself came to badragiri and begged for food. Pattinathr asked badragiri to kill the dog and given the food to shiva, as a result the dog was born as a princess in her next birth.

After long years the princess comes to know about her brith secrets and shesearches for badragiri in asking him to take her. She found badragiri and ask him to take her with him as he was his father in giving her such a prosperous life which in turn has to be dedicated to her guru itself. Badragiri prays the lord and both badragiri and the princess were given salvation in the form of the holy fire.

Pattinathar and his salvation

Pattinathar after seeing this gets drowned by sorrow when the lord is going to accept him and how long he needs to wait in this world to attain salvation. He cries to the lord asking his mercy and grace, upon which lord orders him to roam the place and visit all his temple and where the top portion of the sugarcane taste sweet, there you will be given the salvation.

With the lords order he visits various shiva temples and sang lot of songs in praise of shiva and cautions the people to be balanced in their worldly attachments. At last he reaches a fisherman town where he experiences sweetness in sugarcane (pei karumbu which is soar in nature) and remembers the lords word and decides to leave his body and merge himself in the supreme atman. He plays with the children and asked them to hide him with the parisal (Tamil word: for a convex shaped boat used to carry people in the water. Usually seen in villages) and shows him up on the other one. He performs such magic and entertains the children, the third time he does he not seen and thus attains his salvation.

This place is the present day thiruvatriyoor in northern part of Chennai. We could see a Shiva lingam on his Samadhi.