Nayanar 7: Amaraneedi (Amarniti)

The next saint is described as “Allimel mullaiyantar Amarnitik katiyen” by Arurar— ‘I am the servant of Amarniti [Amaraneedi] of the garland made of the petals of soft jasmine. This saint is said to belong to the Vaisya (Vanikar) community according to Cekkilar. Mullai garland is said to belong to the shepherd community by Naccinarkkiniyar in his commentary on Cintamani and the shepherds are considered to be Govaisyas in the later day tradition.

Nampiyantar makes Palaiyarai as his birth place and Nallur, his place of Shaivite activity. Cekkilar in addition refers to a mutt constructed by Amarniti at Tirunallur. This saint is said to have been giving food and clothing to the worshippers of Shiva and that one day Shiva coming in the garb of a Brahmachari left a ‘kaupina’ or a loin cloth to be kept under safe custody and to be given back after his return from his bath. The loin cloth disappeared mysteriously and the Brahmachari insisted upon an equal weight of cloth or articles.

Everything Amarniti had, could not equal the weight of the Join cloth and the saint had to weigh his wife, his child and himself to equalize the pans thus becoming the slaves of the Brahmachari. Nampiyantar speaks of only the wife and the saint being weighed. A sculpture found at the Palaiyarai temple, a photo of which appears in Mr. C. K. Subrahmanya Mudaliyar’s commentary of Periyapuranam, Vol. I, opposite to p. 684 represents the story of weighing and wherein the wife is found carrying a son as stated in Periyapuranam. The name of the saint is found as Amarniti in the Sanskrit and Kannada works suggesting the niti or justice of the Devas. It is not possible to read the verse of Arurar so as to give this form. Amarniti will mean the justice that has come to stay or that was wished for.

The story of this merchant saint being entrusted with the loin cloth at Nallur and become deluded by the may a of the Lord to be saved in the end was known to Appar and must have been known to Arurar, though the weighing is not referred to:

“Natkonta tamaraip puttatam culntanal lurakatte
Kllkonta kovanam kavenru collik kiripatattan
Vatko'nta nokki manaiyotum ankor vanikanai
Atkonta varttai uraikkum anrdiv vakalitame”

The reference to the garland will show that he was not an ascetic.