How Arunagirithar Made Lord Muruga Appear At Thiruvannamalai

Saint Arunagirinathar spent much of his life at Tiruvannamalai which was under the rule of Prabhu Deva Raya II in the second quarter of the 15th century. The king was a great patron of art and literature and had many scholars in his court, the chief among them being Sambandan. Sambandan was a devotee of goddess Kali and had obtained a boon that for a period of twelve years, she would appear anytime he invoked her. The king also had a great respect for Arunagirinathar owing to his extraordinary love for Lord Murugan and his compassionate attitude towards Villiputturar. This made Sambandan feel envious and he decided to get rid of Arunagiri.

Sambandan tried to convince the king that Arunagirinathar was not as great as he was assumed to be. He further challenged that he could ask Goddess Kali, his Ishta Devata, to appear in an open assembly. If indeed Arunagiri was great, he should similarly be able to manifest his Ishta Devata Murugan too. Whoever failed to do so should leave the kingdom.

A big assembly was convened at the courtyard of the Arunachaleshwarar Temple, which was attended by the king and the queen along with courtiers and common men. At first Sambandan tried to make goddess Kali appear, but failed. Arunagirinathar sang a Thiruppugazh song, which begins with "Athala Sendanarada" describing the Lord's dance as the dance of the universe:

"O Lord of Lords, come dancing such that when you dance, the Adisesha dances in the nether worlds; the mount Meru dances on the earth; Kali dances with Lord Siva, the Ganas of Siva dance around Him; the sweet Sarasvathi dances; Brahma, who is seated on the lotus, dances; the Devas dance; the moon dances; your mother-in-law, Lakshmi Devi, seated on the red-lotus, dances; your father-in-law, Lord Vishnu, who showed His visvarupa (cosmic form), dances; and the Peacock (on which you ride), too, dances."

Lord Murugan appeared dancing before him in the Court on a dancing peacock to the delight of the King and all those present. The shrine near the pillar from which Lord Murugan appeared at Thiruvannamalai temple is called "Khambattu Ilayanaar."

One of the Thiruppugazh songs that mention this : arunaiyil oru nodi thanil varu mayil veera (thirumozhi)

There are different versions of this story. Some hold that when Sambandandan prayed to Kali, she appeared before him and said to him that she could be seen by him alone and not by the king and others. Another version is that the period of twelve years during which she had promised to appear anytime was just over prior to the contest and so she did not appear at all. Sambandandan, however, requested Devi not to allow Murugan to appear at the assembly, at least, to which she agreed. And so when Arunagirinthar sang the "Athala Sedanarada" song, the Lord did not appear. Arunagiri sensed through his yogic vision that the Devi was holding the Bala Murugan tightly. He then sang the Devandra Sanga Vaguppu and the Mayil Virutham when a peacock danced before an enamored Kali, who subsequently loosened Her grip on Murugan unconsciously, thus letting Him ride the peacock, reach the assembly and give Darshan to all.

The king lost his vision, perhaps as a result of the immense radiance he had just witnessed. Having been defeated in the contest, Sambandandan left the kingdom in utter humiliation. He couldn't forget his enmity and approached the king again. Knowing that the king had lost his eye-sight, Sambandandan advised him to get the flower Parijatham to regain his sight and suggested that Arunagirinathar do the job. The king asked Arunagirinathar to bring Parijatha flower from the heaven.

Arunagirinathar moved his life force into the body of parrot (transmigration of soul), after keeping his own body in the gopuram. Unfortunately, before he could return with Parijatha flower, Sambandandan cremated his body. As he could not get his human form back, Arunagirinathar remained as a parrot and composed great songs including Kandaranubuti.