Rudra Pasupathi Nayanar

Rudra Pasupathi Nayanar is the Nayanar who recited the Sri Rudram standing in water — the legend of the Vedic hymn as bodily devotion.

Life/Legend

The hagiography relates that Rudra Pasupathi, a devotee of Thiruchchatimutram? — of the Chola country, took his daily recitation of the Sri Rudram into the river itself, standing neck-deep so that no comfort attend the hymn. The discipline made him the canon’s exemplar of the Veda recited as tapas; the god is said to have received the recitation as his own ablution.

Legacy

The Sri Rudram’s reciters claim his patronage; his story anchors the Nayanar union of Vedic learning and austerity.

Verification notes

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