Arivattaya Nayanar (அரிவட்டாய நாயனார்)
Birthplace : Kanamangalam
Star : Thai Thiruvathirai
Arivattaya Nayanar’s history shows the importance of Neivedhyam (offering) to the Lord.
Thayanar lived in Kanamangalam and had the habit of offering food to his Lord at Thandalacheri across the fields. The offerings weren’t ordinary, but first quality red rice, freshly cooked red greens and pickled baby mangoes (maavadu மாவடு). Without fail, every day Thayanar took this food cooked by his wife and offered it to Lord Shiva at Thandalacheri. To test Thayanar and to show his devotion to the world, Lord Shiva made Thayanar’s wealth reduce day by day. Despite this, Thayanar did not give up the habit of offering the best quality food to his Lord. At one stage, Thayanar did not have any rice and had to work in the fields to earn some rice. Even then, he and his wife offered their earnings of good quality rice to their Lord and they themselves ate poor quality rice. Days worsened that the couple could get only some greens to eat after offering the little rice to their Lord.
After that they could not anything to eat and they starved but still continued to offer the best possible food to Lord Shiva. After many days of starvation, Thayanar and his wife carried the offerings and were walking in the fields to reach the temple in Thandalacheri. Thayanar fainted in hunger and the offerings fell to the ground.
Shocked to see the offering strewn on the ground and nothing to offer his Lord, Thayanar took out his scytheand tried to cut his head. He then heard a crunchy noise of somebody biting the pickled mangoes and a left hand came out of the earth to stop Thayanar cutting himself! Lord Shiva gave darshan to Thayanar and his wife appreciating their bhakthi. Thayanar came to be called as Arivattaya Nayanar as he had tried to cut himself with a scythe (arivaal அரிவாள்).