*60. HORSES BECAME FOXES.* *The auspicious musical instruments were played. Women appeared in the front carrying the eight auspicious articles.*
*Maanikka vaasagar went home lead with gifts and praises.* *“I have the satisfaction that all the gold taken from the King’s treasury was spent on Siva and devotees. At the same time, Siva has delivered a group of strong horses to the satisfaction of the king. I will never forget the Lord's lotus feet. Tapas is the only right way to live.”* *He wanted to immerse himself in Siva bakthi and attain mukthi. The day rolled on and it became night time. All the horses got transformed into foxes as before.* *They had a royal feast on the royal horses. They drank the fresh blood gushing from those horses and ate their flesh. The old and sickly horses tried to fight off the foxes but in vain.* *The mixed sound of the horses neighing, struggling and crying along with the howling of the foxes woke up the entire city.* *The foxes escaped when the stable doors were opened. They ran through all the streets of the city eating domestic animals and birds.* *The city famous for its Vedic chanting and divine music was filled with cries of pain and howling. The soldiers were shivering with fear when they reported the matter to the king.* *The king who was happy to see the horse was now angered by the reports of the foxes. He was terribly angry with the minister for having played such a mean trick. The foxes ran away to the jungle when the city gate was opened.* * THE PUNISHMENT.* *The king started talking to himself,* *“Manikka Vaasagar is a cheat and a rogue. He pretends complete innocence. He has stolen my gold and subjected me to many hardships besides. How on earth did the horses change to foxes? No punishment will befit his crime….!”* *Manikka Vaasagar walked in just then.* *“You are unique! No one has served me as well as you have done! You are so sincere in performing your duties”* *“I do not understand Sire! Has something gone wrong?”* *“You are unfit to be a brahmin! Your own people can swear to that effect. Don’t you really know what has happened?* *All your horses became foxes. They ate up the real horses. They ran through the streets eating all the domestic animals and birds.* *You can’t deceive me anymore. I know what kind of a rogue you really are! You will be punished until you return all my gold taken from my kazaanaa!”* *The torturer was like a Yama kinkara. He started his punishments. Mani Vaasagar was made to stand in the midday sun. A heavy stone was kept on his head. Mani Vaasagar fell down under the weight of the stone. All the time he was meditating on Siva.* *Siva decided that it was time to save his devotee. He made the river Vaigai swell with a flash flood. The banks of the river were broken.* *Trees were uprooted and floated in the water. Fields were flooded and crops destroyed. The high wall around the city was crossed and all the houses flooded.* *People were shocked by these happenings. The foxes ran through the city the previous night. Now there was the flash flood. Was it a prank played by Siva? Or had the king deviated from Justice?* *The torturer ran home to salvage whatever he could from the flood water. The minister was set free. He continued to meditate on Siva.* <http://groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/worldmalayaliclub/> *வாழிய செந்தமிழ்! வாழ்க நற்றமிழர்! * *வாழிய பாரதமணித் திருநாடு! * *வணக்கம்* *சுப்பு* *[image: Law Article]* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
