Lord Indra was once compelled to take birth as an earthly king and lived in the time of the Pandya dynasty, unaware of his former glory as King of the Devas. King Vajrangada was a just ruler and once while hunting in his dominions, he happened upon a musk civet-cat in a forest at the foot of Arunachala. When the cat fled around the Hill, the king mounted his steed and gave chase. He rode all the way around the Hill and just when he had made a complete circuit, he found himself suddenly thrown from the saddle. His horse, however, carried on with the pursuit. Suddenly, the king beheld a great light in the sky, and within it, two animals leaving their earthly bodies and rising heavenward. From above, two celestials called down to the king: “O Sovereign, do not grieve the loss of your horse and the civet-cat. Know that we have been transformed by the grace of Lord Arunachala.”
“Who are you?” the king asked. One of them said, “O King, in our previous lives we were vidyadharas known as Kaladhara and Kantisali but because of a curse, we were born on earth in animal form.
“It happened long ago in a forest on Mount Meru, when we inadvertently incurred the wrath of Durvasa by carelessly trampling his grounds and picking flowers from his garden. He put a curse on us, we two unwitting intruders. Immediately we both fell at his feet and begged, ‘O Sage! Kindly forgive us for trespassing your lands and plucking your flowers. Please do not curse us!’
“Hearing our plea, the Sage took pity upon us but said with genuine regret that he had no power to remove the curse. He said the spell was fixed but he told us how it could be lifted. He told us that Lord Siva had once declared that the one who circumambulates Sona Hill would become like Him, Lord of the entire universe. The Sage added that only by circumambulation of Arunachala Hill could the spell be broken.
“Indeed, the curse took effect as promised and Kantisali, who had heedlessly trampled Durvasa’s plants, was born a horse in Kambhoja and became your mount. I, Kaladhara, captivated by the fragrance of the Sage’s flowers, became a musk civet-cat[1] inhabiting the environs of the Mountain. However, once in our new incarnation, neither of us were able to recall the Sage’s exhortation. Today, however, by your desire to come here and hunt, we have unwittingly followed the Sage’s advice and the curse has been lifted.
“You are a noble soul but you were not blessed today because you only circumambulated the Holy Hill upon a conveyance, that is, mounted on your horse, whereas we went by our own power on foot.
“We truly thank you for your assistance. But now, as we are eager to return to our former home, we bid thee farewell, good king! May Arunachala bless you!”
The king folded his hands and made obeisance to the two celestials but then added: “Kaladhara and Kantisali, you have both been released from your curse. But what about those of us still wandering aimlessly in this earthly exile? Is that not also a curse?”
The two replied, “Good king, listen carefully to what we have to say. Make your mind pure. Control it and surrender it to Lord Siva. Circumambulate Holy Aruna Hill on foot and worship Him. Utilise your treasury to increase Arunachalaeswar Temple, construct towers for it and make level the path around the Hill as a service to the Lord’s devotees. If you do this, your desire will be fulfilled.” After uttering these words, the two departed.
Thereupon, King Vajrangada made up his mind not to return to his kingdom. Instead, he erected a humble dwelling near Gautama’s ashram at the foot of the Hill. This simple abode was visited by friends, relatives, servants, advisers, ministers and the commander-in-chief of the king’s great army that consisted of elephants, cavalry, chariots and infantry, all who came to plead the beneficent king’s return. But the latter was firm in his resolve and surrendered his office. He crowned his son, Ratnangada, as king of the realm. He renounced his wealth, utilising it to dig holy tanks around the Hill, build the temple gopurams and lay the foundations for the eight-mile giripradakshina path. He cleared brush, briars and thorns, removed sharp stones, leveled the ground and, with stone markers, formally established the way, following the course trod by countless gods, saints and siddhas. His work was so perfect that devotees could even perform angapradakshina unimpeded. He made use of the newly cleared footway himself, going around the Hill twice daily, repeating the Lord’s name as he went. Little by little he became immersed in the Ocean of Lord Siva’s Bliss until, one day, Mahadeva Himself appeared before him. Vajrangada fell at His feet and the Lord spoke:
“Fear not, child! You are blessed. You may not remember it, but in your previous birth you were Indra. Yet as Lord over Devaloka, you fell victim to the temptation of pride and forgot Me. I thus bid you be born on earth as Vajrangada to gain humility and obtain my grace. Therefore, you took birth in this most sacred of holy places. By that grace your delusion has now disappeared. You will hereafter investigate the truth and by so doing, will never be separated from Me again, but like waves of the ocean, you will become my very own Self. [2]
[1] Civet-cats are known to emit sweet scents.
[2] Saranagati, January 2014, pp. 2-4.
