Why did Kannappa place his foot on the Shivalinga? Read the story of the devotee who donated his eyes to Lord Shiva.

News Topical, Digital Desk : Kannappa Nayanar was one of the 63 Nayanar saints of South India, born into a hunter community. He is also known as Kannappa Nayanar or Thinnan. Thinnan had no knowledge of the rituals of worship, but he had immense love and devotion for Lord Shiva. This is why Kannappa's worship method, despite being contrary to traditional scriptures, received the blessings of Lord Shiva. Let's read about this amazing story.

Unique ways of worshipping Kannappa

According to the legend associated with the Srikalahasti temple, Kannappa, while wandering through the forest, came across an ancient temple housing a divine Shivalinga. He accepted this Shivalinga as his deity. Kannappa offered the Shivalinga whatever he had, even freshly hunted meat (pork).

To offer water, he would fetch it from the river, rinse it, and then anoint Mahadev with his mouth. When he noticed some dry leaves had fallen onto the Shivalinga, he removed the leaves with his foot.

Gave this sacrifice

Once, Lord Shiva wanted to test Kannappa's devotion. Kannappa noticed that one eye of the Shivalinga was bleeding. Without hesitation, he took out one of his own eyes with an arrow and placed it on the Shivalinga. This stopped the bleeding. However, when the other eye continued to bleed, he decided to remove his other eye as well.

But then the thought occurred to him: If he removed his other eye as well, how would he be able to place it in its proper place? Thinking this, he placed his toe on the other eye of the Shivalinga, hoping to place it in its proper place. As he attempted to remove his eye with his arrow, Lord Shiva himself appeared and grabbed Kannappa's hand. Mahadeva restored both his eyes.

Hence the name Kannappa

In Kannappa, Kann means eye, and Appa means father or giver. Currently, a temple dedicated to Mahadeva exists at Kalahasti in the Tirupati district of Andhra Pradesh, believed to be the site where Bhaktaraj Kannappa offered his eyes to a Shivalinga. This temple is known as Srikalahasti Mahadeva.

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