Dandi Adigal Nayanar or Dandiyadigal Nayanar is the 31st Nayanar saint. Traditional hagiographies like ''

Periya Puranam The ''Periya‌ purāṇa‌m'' (Tamil: பெரிய‌ புராண‌ம்), that is, the ''great purana'' or epic, sometimes called ''Tiruttontarpuranam'' ("Tiru-Thondar-Puranam", the Purana of the Holy Devotees), is a Tamil poetic ...

'' (13th century CE) and '' Thiruthondar Thogai'' (10th century CE) describe him as a great devotee of the Hindu god

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

Hagiographical accounts

Dandi Adigal, a blind devotee of Shiva, used to often circumambulate the

Shiva temple A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

Tiruvarur Thiruvarur () also spelt as Tiruvarur is a town and municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the administrative headquarters of Thiruvarur district and Thiruvarur taluk. The temple chariot of the Thyagaraja temple, weighing and mea ...

, his birthplace in the

Chola Kingdom The Chola dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated to the 3rd century BCE d ...

, and was found chanting Shiva Panchakshara

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

while worshipping.dhaNdiyadigaL nAyanAr
/ref> Many

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

structures encroached upon the premises of the Shiva temple of Tiruvarur, then a prominent Jain settlement. Dandi Adigal decided to rebuild the sacred

temple tank Temple tanks are wells or reservoirs built as part of the temple complex near Indian temples. They are called pushkarini, kalyani, kunda, sarovara, tirtha, talab, pukhuri, ambalakkuḷam, etc. in different languages and regions of India. Some t ...

, whose western bank was accompanied by Jain houses. As Dandi Adigal was blind, he erected a post were the earth needed to be dug and tied a rope to it. The other end of the rope was also tied to another post erected on the bank. He started digging using spade and collected mud in a basket and walked back to the bank by touching the rope and emptied the basket by throwing the mud away. The Jains were irked by the digging, which they felt would harm the earthy micro-organisms and insects, a sin in Jainism. They mocked Dandi Adigal's blindness and in some versions, promised to leave the town if Shiva would restore Dandi Adigal's eyesight. Jains stopped the work by removing the posts and snatching the digging tools. Dandi Adigal pleaded to Shiva to help. In some versions, Shiva appeared in Dandi Adigal's dream to assure him and then appeared in the Chola King's dream directing him to resolve the affair. In all versions, a miracle happens and Dandi Adigal's eyesight is restored and the Jains become blind in presence of the King. Jains release Tiruvarur after the incident, due to the King's orders or as per their promise or due to the fear of more divine wrath. The renovation of the temple tank was completed by the King.

Reverence

Since it is believed that Dandi Adigal Nayanar was born on ''sadayam'' star ( Shatabhishek) of the Tamil month Panguni, the specific day is celebrated as ''Guru Pooja'' day in all

temples.

References

{{Nayanars Nayanars