Mangayarkkarasiar
Queen Mankayarkkarasiar (Tamil word stands for - queen of all womenfolk), the Queen of Pandya King Nedumaranan, was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. The Minister Kulachchiraiyar too was equally ardent devotee of Shiva.
Mankayarkkarasiar was born in the royal family of the Chozha kingdom. She grew up with devotion to the Lord Shiva and she was married to the Pandiya king, Nedumaranan. The king Nedumaranan was valiant and powerful king but followed the philosophies of Jainism, unlike the Queen who believed in Shaivaism. During that period in the entire Pandya kingdom the Jain philosophy became the prominent one. The abodes of the Shiva became the places of Jains. The Jains for whom non violence is a major basis went on violating that principle itself.
The reverend Mankayarkkarasiar who had an absolut love for the Lord Shiva was quite alarmed at the state the Pandiya kingdom was. She was bothered much that her respectable husband was unable to enjoy the fruits of Shaivaism. There was one more person - the prime minister Kulachchiraiyar who was also worried about the philosophical fall of the kingdom.
Hagiography: The Queen and the Prime Minister prayed to the andhakanthaka (killer of ignorance - Lord Shiva) for the salvation of all the people in the kingdom. Their prayer and patience gave fruit when they received the message that the saint Sambandhar has arrived at Thirumaraikkadu. They sent knowledgeable persons to salute the child prodigy and request for his blessings. He accepted their request to come to the Pandaiya kingdom. With overwhelming eagerness to salute the young saint who came to protect the king and the kingdom from ignorance, she told the king that she was going to salute the Lord of Madurai and went to receive him. Along with the queen and the minister the saint went and worshiped the Lord of Madurai.
The queen who was anxious about the troubles the Jains would create to him, decided to sacrifice herself if something bad happens to the prodigy. As feared, the Jains put on fire in the place where Thirugnanasambandhar and other devotees who came along with him were staying. But by the grace of God he transferred it to become a fire in the stomach of the king. The queen and the prime minister were very much worried on hearing that the Jains set fire to the saints place, and it added to their worry when they heard the king got a serious pain in the stomach. Because the king was the husband of Mankayarkkarasiar the noble saint asked the fire to go slow in the kings stomach. When the entire Jain sages tried out their mantras without any alleviating effect on the king, the young saint smeared the Holy ash chanting the Holy panchakshara manthra (five letter - na ma si va ya). The king was immediately cured of his illness. The queen Mankayarkkarasiar was very happy at this.
When the Saint won the Jains in debate and taught the excellence of Shaivaism to the king and the people, the queen was felt really blessed by the Lord for enlightening her beloved husband and the entire kingdom.
With patience, determination and strong love for the Lord of Lords, queen Mankayarkkarasiar revived Shaivaism in the Pandya kingdom.