Offering food, best dharma

Offering food to others is the best dharma, said R. Narayanan in a discourse. There is nothing to equal this, says Tiruvalluvar. In his Tirumanthiram, Tirumoolar says we should offer a vilva leaf to Lord Siva, grass to a cow, and food to fellow human beings.

More importantly, we must always use sweet words. Tiruvalluvar says that even nectar, which confers immortality, must be shared with others. Ilayankudi Maranar was one of the 63 Nayanmars praised by Sekkizhar in his Periya Puranam.

Maranar was wealthy. He honoured devotees of Siva by washing their feet with scented water. He then offered them a lavish meal, which did not lack any flavour. The Lord wanted to show the world how generous Ilayankudi Maranar could be even in poverty.

He made sure that Maranar lost his wealth. Eventually, he was left with nothing but a tiled house and a small plot of land. One night, after Maranar had sown seeds in his field, it rained heavily. That night, Siva, in the guise of a Saivite devotee, arrived at Maranar’s doorstep.

Maranar’s wife asked her husband to fetch the grains that had been sown that morning. She cleaned the grains, and used it to cook rice for the visitor. Usually, the grains used for sowing were never used for cooking, because they ensured that a farmer would be able to grow his next crop.

So, something that would take care of a farmer’s future would never be used for food. But Maranar and his wife broke that rule, when they cooked for the mendicant. Greens grown in the backyard were also used to prepare tasty dishes.

Since there was no firewood, Maranar’s wife used a wooden beam from their house as firewood. When the couple was about to serve food, the sleeping guest woke and revealed Himself as Lord Siva. He blessed them and said they would reach Sivaloka.