The Life
Satti Nayanar belonged to Varinjaiyur in the Chola country, a farmer utterly devoted to Shiva and to His servants. He held it the gravest of sins that anyone should speak ill of the Lord or slander His devotees. Firm in the conviction that even the faults of true devotees are as virtues, while the merits of those without love for Shiva are worthless, he made it his unbending vow to punish blasphemers. Whenever he heard a person revile Shiva or disparage a Shaiva, Satti would cut out the offending tongue with the weapon he kept ready, allowing no insult to the Lord or His people to pass. By this fierce and single-minded defence of Shiva's glory and the honour of His devotees, Satti Nayanar earned the grace of the Lord and his place among the sixty-three.