1. Murthi Nayanar, spelt as Murthy Nayanar, Moorthy Nayanar and Murti Nayanar and known as Murtti, is a Nayanar saint, venerated in the Hindu sect of Shaivism.
18 Facts About Murthi Nayanar
1. 2.
Murthi Nayanar is generally counted as the fifteenth in the list of 63 Nayanars.
3.
The life of Murthi Nayanar is described in the Periya Puranam by Sekkizhar, which is a hagiography of the 63 Nayanars.
4.
Murthi Nayanar was born in Madurai, the capital of the Pandyan Kingdom.
5.
Murthi Nayanar was a great devotee of Shiva, the patron god of Shaivism.
6.
Murthi Nayanar persecuted the Shaivas and attempted to forcibly convert them to Jainism.
7.
However, Murthi Nayanar used his elbow instead of sandalwood and started grinding it on stone to make a paste for anointing Shiva.
8.
Murthi Nayanar's skin peeled and his bones started showing and blood bled.
9.
Shiva assured him that the tyrant king would die soon and Murthi Nayanar would replace him as king.
10.
Meanwhile, Murthi Nayanar who did not long for kingship, accepted his fate as a divine order.
11.
Murthi Nayanar came outside the temple, when the elephant saluted him and garlanded the saint.
12.
The elephant then uplifted Murthi Nayanar and placed him on its back and returned to the palace.
13.
Murthi Nayanar agreed on the condition that the kingdom accepts Shaivism as its way of life.
14.
Murthi Nayanar ruled in a garb of a Shaiva devotee, smearing his body with sacred ash and wearing rudraksha ornaments and matted hair, instead of a crown.
15.
Murthi Nayanar reached the abode of Shiva, after his death.
16.
Murthi Nayanar is said to rule over the world, through the "three emblems of sovereignty".
17.
Murthi Nayanar is depicted wearing a crown, with folded hands and holding a club in the crook of his arm.
18.
Murthi Nayanar receives collective worship as part of the 63 Nayanars.