POET SEKKIZHAR has immortalised the 63 luminaries — known as Arupathumoovar — through his masterpiece, "Periyapuranam", one of the greatest classics in Tamil literature. In the galaxy of such spiritual savants is Poosala Nayanar who lived in Tiruninravur, 1,300 years ago. He was a great devotee of Lord Siva, always meditating on him. Seeing him smeared with vibhuti (the sacred ash), the local people named him as Poosalar.
The ruler of Kanchi, Rajasimhan (Kadavarkon Pallavan) fulfilled his long cherished desire, by constructing the Kailasanathar temple, the biggest among the temples in Kanchi. Under his personal supervision, the temple was completed in a record time of two years and the kumbabishekam (consecration) was to take place.
Poosalar also had a great ambition the only one of his life — to build a temple for Lord Siva in his village, so that everyone in the village and the surrounding areas could visit the shrine and worship the deity. Being a poor Brahmin with no income, realising his ambition was beyond his means. But the devotee did not give up. He decided to build a temple in his hirudayam (heart). Sitting under a tree he began to meditate and the temple took shape in his mind stage by stage — from the beginning stages, the foundation and the pillars. And finally it was ready for consecration!
Meanwhile the king had completed the Kailasanathar temple and it so happened that the ruler and the subject chose the same day and time for the consecration ceremony. The night before the kumbabhishekam, the king, proud of having constructed the biggest temple in Kanchi, went to sleep. And a divine voice asked him to shift his temple consecration to some other day, as Lord Siva had to grace the consecration of a bigger temple built by His devotee, Poosalar, at Tiruninravur.
A shocked king rose from his bed, ordered cancellation of the consecration and rushed to Tiruninravur. The king's entourage reached there before dawn and found farmers going to their fields — there was no indication of a festival. The king made enquiries and received the reply that no new temple had come up in their village and anyway he could meet Poosalar in meditation under a tree.
The king went near Poosalar waited for the saint to open his eyes. When he did, the king asked him where his temple was located and the saint pointed to his `heart'. The king could clearly see the consecration take place amidst the chanting of the Vedas and nagaswaram music.
The King fell at the feet of Poosalar, received his blessings and returned to Kanchi. He conducted the kumbabishekam of his temple on another day. But the king was moved by the devotion of Poosalar. The saint passed away and in his memory, the Pallava King constructed the temple at Tiruninravur and named it Hrudayaliswarar temple.
