Full · 6 min aloud
lived at . He wanted to build a temple for , a place where he could welcome and worship the god.
A temple needed materials, people who knew how to build, and money to pay for the work. Pūsalār did not have that money. He tried to find it, but could not gather what he needed.
The wish stayed with him. He could not begin a stone building in the village. So he began the work in his mind.
He gathered the materials there. He found the craftsmen there too, and chose a good day to start. In his mind, he had to prepare for the work before he could begin it.
Then he laid the foundation. He followed the order in which a temple must be built, starting at the bottom. The parts that would carry the building came before the parts that would rise above them.
He worked out each stage and gave it its place. He did not jump from an empty space to a finished temple. There was work between those two things, and he stayed with it.
The building rose in his mind. He planned the height of the tower and built it to the measure he had chosen. He completed the work below it as well as the part that reached upward.
He finished the plasterwork and the other work the temple needed. Around it he made the enclosure. He provided a well and a tank, preparing the whole place for worship.
This took a long time. Even at night, his attention stayed with the work. The temple was in his mind, but each stage had to be completed before he could call the building finished.
At last the temple was ready. Pūsalār chose the time for its consecration, when would be invited to dwell there. The work of building would lead into the work of worship.
At , the Pallava king had also completed a temple for Śiva. His was a stone temple, and he had devoted great wealth to it. He too was preparing for the consecration.
Now both temples were ready for their ceremonies: the king’s temple at Kāñchipuram, and Pūsalār’s temple within his mind at Tiruniṉṟavūr.
The night before the king’s ceremony, appeared in his dream. He spoke of the temple Pūsalār had spent so long building.
Tomorrow I will enter Pūsalār’s temple at Tiruniṉṟavūr. Put off the ceremony you have arranged here, and hold it later.
When the king woke, he wanted to meet that devotee and honor him. He went to Tiruniṉṟavūr to find Pūsalār and the temple of which Śiva had spoken.
He asked the people there where Pūsalār’s temple stood. They told him that Pūsalār had not built a temple in the village. The king had reached the right place, but there was no building to show him.
Then he asked who Pūsalār was. People knew him and were ready to bring him to the king. The king stopped them; he would go to Pūsalār himself.
He went and greeted the devotee with respect. He explained that Śiva had told him about the temple and its consecration. He had come to see Pūsalār and asked where the temple was.
Pūsalār was astonished to hear this. He had not been able to gather money for a temple outside. He told the king how he had built it in his mind, stage after stage, until it was ready.
The king listened to the account of that long work. Then he bowed before Pūsalār. After honoring him, he returned to his own city.
At the chosen time, Pūsalār consecrated the temple in his mind. His service did not stop with the building or with that one ceremony. He continued the worship, day after day.
slow down hereThe king’s stone temple would have its ceremony later. In Pūsalār’s temple, the welcome for Śiva was ready, and the worship went on.
Short · 3 min aloud
wanted to build a temple for at . He tried to gather the money, but could not find what he needed. So he began building in his mind.
He could not pay for the materials or the people who would build it. The wish to make a place for worship stayed with him.
He gathered the materials and craftsmen there, chose a day, and laid the foundation. He followed the stages of building in order. The tower rose to the height he had planned; the finishing, enclosure, well and tank were made ready too.
This work took a long time. At last he chose the day when Śiva would be invited into the finished temple.
Meanwhile, at , the Pallava king had completed a stone temple for Śiva. He had given great wealth to it and was preparing for its consecration.
The night before, Śiva appeared in the king’s dream. Tomorrow I will enter Pūsalār’s temple at Tiruniṉṟavūr, he said. Put off your ceremony and hold it later.
The king wanted to meet Pūsalār and honor him. He went to the village and asked where the temple stood. People told him Pūsalār had not built a temple there.
They were ready to bring Pūsalār to him. But the king would not have the devotee summoned. He went to meet him himself.
He explained what Śiva had said and asked about the temple. Pūsalār was astonished. Then he told the king how he had completed the building within his mind.
The king listened and bowed before him. He returned to his own city; his temple’s ceremony would wait.
At the chosen time, Pūsalār performed the consecration in his mental temple. He continued to worship there for many days.
slow down hereThe temple nobody in the village could point to was ready to welcome Śiva.