Muruga

Muruga Nāyanār — not to be confused with the god Murugan — was a brahmin of Tiruppugalur in the Chola country, and one of the sixty-three Nāyanārs of the Tamil Shaiva canon. His sainthood rests on the humblest of temple offices: he gathered flowers.

The story

The Periya Puranam describes a life of unbroken routine. Rising before dawn, Muruga went out to the gardens and groves, gathered blossoms while they were still fresh, and wove them into garlands for the daily adornment of Shiva at Tiruppugalur. Sekkilar praises the exactness of his service — each flower fit for offering, each garland woven with the appropriate chants — a discipline sustained for a lifetime without variation.

Tradition associates him with Tirujnanasambandar, the child hymnist of Sirkazhi, whom he is said to have attended during the saint's visits. The hagiographies hold that Muruga was among those present at Sambandar's wedding at Nallur Perumanam, when — as the tradition tells it — the wedding party merged into the divine light along with the bridegroom himself.

What the tale carries

Muruga's entry in the canon dignifies maintenance: the daily, invisible labour on which temple worship rests. In the economy of the Periya Puranam, the man who keeps the god garlanded stands level with kings and generals.