PUGAL CHOLA NAYANAR (Series of Tamil saints)

Pugal Chola Nayanar was a king. He was living in Uraiyur in the Chola kingdom. He was greatly devoted to Lord Siva and His Bhaktas. He was an ideal king and people loved him and followed in his footsteps.

Once he went to Karur to collect tributes due to him from the kings of Kuda Nadu. All of them paid at once: but the ministers reported that a petty king named Adigan had not. He ordered his troops to invade Adigans fort. In the meantime, the king's elephant was killed by Eripatha Nayanar for a Siva Aparadham (as we have already seen in Eripatha Nayanars life). Ultimately, both Eripathar and the king had Lords Darshan. As this drama was being enacted, elsewhere, the king's troops had demolished Adigans fort, killing many of his men, and Adigan himself had run away. Pugal Cholars troops returned with a lot of wealth and the heads of men were killed. They placed all these at the king's feet. Among the heads, the king noticed a head with a braid of hair on top belonged to a Siva Bhakta. Stricken with terrible remorse the king had a big fire made, went around it having the head on a golden plate in his hand and entered the fire chanting the Panchakshara Mantra. Thus he entered the Lord's Abode.