Spiritual Stories

Author(s): Raman Maharshi
Publisher: Ramanasramam Tiruvannamalai

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MOTHER'S BLESSINGS
SAMBANDHA WAS BORN in an orthodox brahmin family in the town of Sirkali, to Sivapada Hridayar and his wife Bhagavatiyar.
One day, when the boy was three years old, the father took him to Thirutonni Appar Koil. The father while immersed in the tank for a bath, began repeating the aghamarshana mantram. The child could not see his father in the tank, and looked around in fear and grief. There was no trace of the father. Not able to contain its grief the child wept aloud looking at the temple tower saying, “Mother! Father!” Parvati and Lord Siva appeared in the sky, seated on the sacred bull, and gave darsan to the little child. As desired by Siva, Parvati gave the child a golden cup full of milk from her breast – the sacred milk containing Siva Jnana (Knowledge of Siva). The child drank the milk, became free from sorrow, and the divine couple disappeared. The child was transformed into an inspired sage, wholly and solely dedicated to Siva. Consequently he received the epithet of Aludaiya Pillaiyar ('the God's own child') and Thiru Jnana Sambandhar ('he who is conjoined with divine wisdom').
Having drunk the milk of jnana, and feeling quite satisfied and happy, Sambandha sat on the tank bund with milk dribbling from the corners of his mouth. When the father came out from his bath, he saw the boy's condition and angrily asked, flourishing a cane, “Who gave you milk? Can you drink milk given by strangers? Tell me who that person is or I will beat you."
Sambandha immediately replied by singing ten Tamil verses. The gist of the first verse is: “The man with kundalas