Tirunilakanta Nayanar

Tirunilakanta Nayanar, also known as Tirunilakanta (spelt as Tirunilakantha, Tiru Neelakanta, Tiru Nilakanta), Nilakantan and Tirunilakantar (Thiruneelakandar) was a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism. He is generally counted as the second in the list of 63 Nayanars.

Life The life of Tirunilakanta Nayanar is described in the Tamil Periya Puranam by Sekkizhar (12th century), which is a hagiography of the 63 Nayanars.

Tirunilakanta Nayanar belonged to Chidambaram, famous for its Thillai Nataraja Temple dedicated to the god Shiva, patron of Shaivism. He was born in the Kuyavar caste of potters. He made earthenware pots and other containers. He was a devout devotee of Shiva and distributed clay bowls to devotees of Shiva, free of cost. He and his wife specially revered the Nilakanta (Tirunilakanta, "Blue Throated one") form of Shiva, who drank the Halahala poison and saved the universe.

Once, Tirunilakanta Nayanar enjoyed pleasure with a prostitute. The news reached the wife before he reached home. The enraged wife fulfilled all her duties but did not allow her husband to touch her. When he tried affectionately touch her to placate her, she refused his advances and said 'Would you touch us (me) .... Tirunilakanta.' While the wife meant that her husband does not touch her, she used a pronoun, which also meant "us". Tirunilakanta could be interpreted as the name of the husband or god Shiva. Traditionally, a Hindu married woman does not address her husband by his name. It is not clear by what she meant, but her husband took the meaning that she refrained him from touching all women ("us") by the name of the god Nilakanta. The Nayanar pledged not to touch any woman from that day, even in his thoughts. While describing the Nayanars, Nambiyandar Nambi (11th century) says that Tirunilakanta Nayanar observed sexual abstinence with his wife and as an aged man, regained his youth with his wife by "God's grace". A maxim by Sivadevayya, also known as Visweswara Siva Desika, the guru and minister of the Kakatiya king Kakati Ganapati Deva (1199-1260), part of his lost Telugu sataka (a collection of 100 poems ) Siva-devadhimani Satakamu says that one must be like Siriyala in childhood, Sundarar in youth and Gundaya (Tirunilakanta Nayanar) in old age; if one has no faith in Shiva then "his birth is burden and life is futile". Gopalakrishna Bharati (1810–1896) wrote a short opera named Tirunilakantha Nayanar Charitram on his life.

Tirunilakanta Nayanar is worshipped in the Tamil month of Thai, when the moon enters the Vishakha nakshatra (lunar mansion). He is depicted with folded hands (see Anjali mudra). He receives collective worship as part of the 63 Nayanars. Their icons and brief accounts of his deeds are found in many Shiva temples in Tamil Nadu. Their images are taken out in procession in festivals.