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ThoNdaradippodi aazhvaar lived a life of
devotion to Lord ranganaatha of
thiruvarangam. A Devadaasi called dEva dEvi
took on a challenge to seduce the aazhvaar
and divert his attention away from the Lord.
Dressed as a sri vaishnava devotee she
started as a helpmate for the aazhvaar's
godly duties. Over time she succeeded in
seducing the aazhvaar. After that, dEva dEvi
turned aazhvaar out of her home demanding
money. Heart broken, aazhvaar went into deep
depression. Lord ranganaathaa missed the
daily prayers of the aazhvaar. To get the
problem resolved the Lord took on human form
and gave one of the golden vessels belonging
to the temple to dEva dEvi and asked her to
take the aazhvaar back. She did so.
However, the temple officials noticed the
missing vessel and accused the aazhvaar.
Azhvaar was then jailed. That night the Lord
appeared in the king's dream and revealed
what actually had happened. The king
immediately released the aazhvaar. However,
Azhvaar was distraught for having turned away
from his beloved Lord ranganaathaa. To make
amends for his transgressions with dEva dEvi,
aazhvaar consumed water from the feet of sri
vaishnavaas. He also resolved to be called
thoNdaradippodi.
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