Ilayankudi Maranar

Ilayankudi Maranar is the farmer-saint whose last rice fed a devotee — the Nayanar exemplar of giving from poverty itself.

Life/Legend

The hagiography relates that Maranar, a poor Vellala of Ilayankudi, served every Shiva devotee who came to his door. One evening in famine his household cooked its last measure of rice; a guest arrived through the rain, and Maranar served him everything. The guest was Shiva, who appeared with the household’s abundance restored — a tale told wherever hospitality is praised in the Tamil country.

Legacy

Maranar’s village shrine commemorates the feeding; his story anchors the Nayanar teaching that devotion is measured by what is given when nothing remains.

Verification notes

• Narrative is hagiographic (Periya Puranam); dating traditional.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).