This is one of the divine play known as "Thiruvilayadal" by God Shiva with his devotees, where the God himself came in digsuise and carried sand to stop the flood in the River Vaigai.
In Madurai, one day God Shiva made it rain heavily and the banks of the River Vaigai was flooding.
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| Image courtesy : google search |
So the people rushed to the Pandya King for help. The king said we need to raise the height of the bank. One person from each household should come forward so that we can do this quickly.
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| Image courtesy : google search |
There lived an old lady named "Vandhi" and she made & sold Puttu (Steamed rice cakes) for her living. Delicious were the Puttu made by her.
Always she kept a portion of the Puttu as an offering to Lord Shiva before she starts her sale. Hearing the king's order, she was upset as she was weak and old to help them. She prayed to God Shiva and lamented that she is of no help to her country.
God was moved by these words from her sincere heart and he came down to help her in the disguise of a young boy. The God who was invisibly accepting her Puttu offering is now making his presence to taste her delicious Puttu!
He offered his help to her on a condition that she has to feed him unlimited puttu till his heart's content. Condition was agreed by Vandi Paati and she served him hot delicious puttu before he left for work.
When we over eat, we tend to feel sleepy. There is a saying in Tamizh "Unda Mayakam Thondanukum Undu". So the god in disguise after his tummy was full, lied down and slept. Seeing him not working, the people complained to the supervisor, thus this reached the King's ears.
The King rushed to the place and saw the lad Sleeping. Angry king, took a cane and beat the sleeping lad. The pain was felt by everyone present there including the King. This unusual experience made them realise that it is not a man but a God.
This divine play is still remembered and celebrated in Madurai. In the month of "Aavani" (Shravan / (Chinga masam in malayalam) on the day of Moolam Star, this event is celebrated in Shiva Temple in Madurai as an event. Puttu is distributed as Prashad to all the devotees.
Those who want to try this recipe will find it here
These were the stories told to children and I was lucky that I was from that generation that I could here a lot of such historical divine plays and more.
Shambo Mahadeva!