The story of saiva saints/38. CHERAMAN PERUMAL NAYANAR
38. CHERAMAN PERUMAL NAYANAR
In Kodungolur or Magothai of the Chera country, there lived a king called Cheraman Perumal. He was gifted with the art of understanding the speech of every being and hence he was popularly known by the name Kazharitru Arivar. He used to worship Lord Nataraja and on completion of worship he would hear the tinkling sound of the anklet of Lord Nataraja. One day he heard the sound very late. Becoming aggrieved, he wanted to put an end to his life. The Lord informed him that he was enamoured by and engrossed in the songs of Suntharar and hence he was late to grace him with the tinkling sound. On hearing this, Cheraman Perumal desired to meet Suntharar.
On the day of coronation, Cheraman went on procession in the royal streets and a washerman was coming. It rained and the fuller's-earth which he carried became wet and soaked. As the sun shone, it became dried up and the washerman looked as if he besmeared his body with the sacred Ash. The king was much pleased to see the dhobi and getting down from the elephant greeted him. The dhobi becoming perplexed said that he was after all his slave a dhobi. The king replying that he was the devotee of the Lord, said that he reminded him of the loving sacred guise of the devotees of Siva and that he might go unembarrassed.
There was a minstrel-a lute player called Pana Bhadra at Madurai and he went to Cheraman with an epistle beginning with "Mathimalipurisai" composed by Lord Siva at Madurai. On receiving the letter of introduction in verse, Cheraman gave him abundant wealth and the minstrel returned to Madurai. To meet Sunthara moorthi Swamigal, Cheraman went to the Chola country, sang a minor poem "Pon Vannaththu Anthathi" at Chidambaram and "Thiru Arur Mummanikkovai" at Thiru Arur. He was the guest of Suntharar for some time and visited many shrines in the Chola and Pandya countries. Suntharar paid a visit to Thiruvanjaikkalam, the city of the Cheraman and returned with bounteous wealth. While Suntharar visited the Chera capital for a second time, he mounted on a white elephant and proceeded to KAILAS and Cheraman mounting on a horse followed him. It was in the presence of the Lord that Cheraman presented his poem under the caption "Thirukkailaya Gnana Ula".