APPAYI
Appayi was a beautiful girl residing in Mangalam village. She belonged to a family of weavers, and the cloth trade was flourishing in that region.
Her parents had decided to marry her to a man who came to trade in their village. As soon as they met, they felt as though they were destined for each other. However, some of her relatives had spread ill words about the man, claiming that he suffered from some illness. Her parents grew worried and decided not to move forward with the marriage.
The man’s family then decided to seek a bride from a nearby village. When Appayi came to know of this, she left her home, informing her mother that she could not think of anyone else as her life partner.
She wandered in search of him, determined to be united with him. She sought the help of the deity Sikkanapandaram, who agreed to assist her.
Sikkanapandaram intervened and spoke to the man’s family, and at last Appayi was married to the man she loved. They lived happily together.
But the happiness did not last long. Her husband fell suddenly ill, and she nursed him with the utmost care.
To seek a cure for him, she would leave home early each morning, bathe in the pond, and pray at the temple. The neighbours grew suspicious of her, seeing her leave every morning without explanation.
Her husband passed away, and she told her relatives not to bury him until she returned home.
She went to the Thuraiyur Zamindar and requested sandalwood for the burial. But the Zamindar dismissed her and ordered her to leave. When his soldiers tried to evict her, Appayi declared that if she was a virtuous wife, the Zamindar’s crown and throne would catch fire. As she spoke those words, they burst into flames.
The Zamindar then agreed to give her sandalwood and sacred fire, which Appayi received in the folds of her saree. He also sent two of his men to accompany her on her journey home.
As Appayi was returning with the sacred fire and the materials for her husband’s funeral rites, she came to a place where the deity Karuppannasamy appeared before her and barred her way. She explained her situation and asked him to let her pass and accompany her, offering to make her ritual offering to him first before partaking herself.
Pleased by her devotion and determination, Karuppannasamy blessed her and allowed her to continue on her way.
Meanwhile, the relatives had carried her husband’s body to the cremation ground and waited for Appayi to arrive.
On the way back to Mangalam, Appayi’s period began. Before entering the cremation ground, she purified herself by taking five oil lamps, gathering water from five springs, holding sacred arugampul grass in her mouth, and immersing herself five times in the water. Remembering her husband and praying with deep devotion, she worshipped the sacred waters and then proceeded to the cremation ground, where she placed the sacred fire upon her husband’s pyre.
As her husband’s body was being cremated, Appayi stepped into the flames herself. The fire rose high around her. The people gathered there cried out:
“Mother! Grant us your blessings!”
Hearing their plea, Appayi replied:
“If you live as one, united and without division among yourselves, I will remain with you and protect you always.”
Saying these words, she was engulfed in the flames and disappeared.
The next day, at the cremation ground, her relatives found Appayi’s thali and the mundhanai of her saree lying unharmed among the ashes.
Recognizing the miracle, they placed them reverently in a basket and brought them back to the village. From that day forth, they began to worship Appayi as their deity.
