The Life
Kazharsinga Nayanar was a mighty Pallava king (identified with Rajasimha, Narasimhavarman II) and an ardent devotee of Shiva who made pilgrimages to many shrines. At the Araneri shrine in Thiruvarur, his queen thoughtlessly picked up and smelled a flower that had been gathered for the Lord's worship — an act of sacrilege, since the offering must reach Shiva untouched and un-smelled. The temple servitor Seruthunai Nayanar, blazing with holy anger, cut off the offending nose of the queen on the spot. When the king learned of it, far from punishing Seruthunai, he honoured him — and, judging the punishment too light, himself ordered that the very hand which had plucked the flower be severed. Prizing devotion to Shiva above his own consort, Kazharsinga attained the Lord's grace.