Tenali Raman and the thieves.

        The witty Tenali Raman was now known to all as King Krishna deva Raya's favourite  courtier and was also now known to be a wealthy man as he received lot of valuable gifts from the king. This made Tenali Raman an easy target for thieves. 

       One summer night , when Tenali Raman and his wife were relaxing in their  courtyard, his sharp eyes caught a movement in the leaves in his garden. There was not even a faint breeze ,so Raman presumed that there were intruders in his house. He was right - a couple of thieves were hiding there.

     " My dear," said Raman quite loudly to his wife , "I've heard that far too many robberies are taking place in our neighbourhood. So let's hide our jewels in the well."

     A little later , Raman and his wife came out lugging a heavy box, and dropped it into the well. It fell with a mighty splash. They went back in to the house , as if to sleep.

     The thieves waited for a while and stealthily began to draw water from the well.They hoped to empty the well and get the treasure.The whole night , the two thieves drew water and poured it out as quietly as they could. They got the trunk out and to their dismay found huge stones inside them. By morning they were completely exhausted and very miserable knowing that they were outsmarted by the witty Raman.

    Tenali Raman came out in the morning and saw the thieves.

     "Thank you for watering my garden . You have saved me a lot of trouble," he called out.

      The two men begged Tenali Raman for forgiveness and hobbled away as fast as they could.

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.

      

    One day an anxious mother, along with her son visited Mahatma Gandhi. She told Bapuji, "My son is suffering from a kidney disease,Bapuji, I am really concerned ,I took him to the doctor and the doctor has advised him to take food without salt." She continued, "the problem Bapuji is my son refuses to follow the doctor's orders ,but if you tell him he will listen as he worships you and he will not deny you.".


     The Mahatma asked the mother and son to see him after a week.


     After a week or so , Mahatma Gandhi called the mother and the son to his house. He took the boy aside and looked him in the eye and said " You are very important for your mother's happiness and your health worries her, It is my wish that you follow doctor's orders and stop taking salt in your diet ".


    The boy who was in awe of the Mahatma was so pleased with the Mahatma worrying about him,agreed at once  . He turned to his mother and said" no more salt for me Ma."


     The relieved mother stood puzzled for a while and asked Gandhiji "But Bapuji, you could have told him this when we came a week ago, why didn't you?"


      To this Gandhiji replied"But madam at that time I was taking salt in my diet and it has taken a week for me to give up salt myself. How can I advice your son to eat a diet without salt with a clear conscience? How can I tell someone to do something which I myself do not practice .


    This is the great man who said" Be the change you want to see in the world".

Thirunyana Sambandar -the holy ash.

    King Nedumaran of Pandiya kingdom was  a follower of Jainism. His wife Mangaiyarkkarasi and Minister Kulachchiraiyar were devotees of Lord Shiva.


    When the young prodigy Thirunyana Sambandar in his travels reached Pandiya kingdom to sing the praise of the lord, both the queen and the minister were overjoyed. They welcomed him gratefully and were hopeful that at last the king can be removed from the influences of the Jains.


    Though in possession of sound  principles the Jains followed them selfishly. They were constantly fearful of losing the kings patronage and in the survival of their philosophy . Hence were out to poison the king about the intentions of Thirunyana Sambandar's arrival as a direct challenge to the king and his beliefs.The trusting king believed them and gave permission to burn down the mansion ,provided by the queen for the visiting Sambandar with their mantras and prove their superiority over Shaivism. The Mantras of the Jains failed to work on the mansion where the God child stayed. To convince the king of their success the jains set the mansion on fire.
      
       Seeing the mansion on fire and thankful that no one came to harm  , Thirunyana Sambandar sang a pathigam and  sent the heat of the fire back to the person who was responsible for it. The king had sanctioned this revenge and so was immediately affected and was soon down with a burning pain in his stomach.


     The king was miserable in pain and soon listened to the queen to allow Sambandar to cure him. The king asked the jains to work on his left side and Thirunyana Sambandar on the right side . The jains worked with peacock feathers and holy water ,it only increased the burning pain. The king begged Sambandar to cure him and promised to accept and follow Shaivism if he succeeded . The young saint praising the lord applied holy ashes(thiruneer)  on the king's body on the right side . At once the king felt a chilling effect and the pain leaving him on that side .Then he asked Sambandar to cure him completely . Sambandar then smeared the holy ashes on the left side of the king's body and cured the king.The king was all praise for Sambandar and saluted him with folded hands. It was not long before the king embraced Shaivism.


    The queen Mangaiyarkkarachiyar , Kulachchiraiyar and the king Nedumaran are all among the 63 Nayanmars.