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In the past, there lived several merchants in Karaikkal- a place located in the chozha region where the river Cauvery flows. These merchants traveled across the sea to foreign countries for trading purposes. Dhanadatta was one affluent merchant among them. He was known for his integrity and great devotion to Lord Shiva.

In due course, a baby girl was born to him and he named her Punithavathi. He brought her up with great love and affection. He could not stay away from his only child even for a short while. Punithavathi was a beautiful child who could could sing well and dance too. Besides that, she had something divine in her, which would attract and strike anybody looking at her. Unlike the kids of her age, Punithavathi was not interested in play and fun. She would visit the temple of Lord Shiva every day without fail. She would prostrate often before the deity. She would keep looking at the deity for long hours together. While her friends would build mud houses, she would make a Shiva Linga out of mud and worship it with great enthusiasm.

Though Dhanadatta was extremely happy to see his daughter devoted to Lord Shiva, yet the thought of a right match to suit her nature worried him. He constantly prayed to the Lord regarding this matter. Lord Shiva too answered his prayers. In Nagapattinam, which is near Karaikkal, there lived a merchant called Nidhipati. He had a son named Paramadatta. Hearing about Punithavathi, Nidhipati wanted to get his son married to her and he approached Dhanadatta in that regard. Knowing Paramadatta to be a right match for Punithavathi in all aspects, Dhanadatta accepted the proposal with great joy. The marriage took place with great pomp and splendour. But Dhanadatta was not able to send Punithavathi away after her marriage. He could not even imagine a life being separated from his daughter.

Knowing the agitated state of mind of his father-in-law, Paramadatta told him-“I know very well that you cannot stay away from Punithavathi even for a short while. Still, people will talk ill of me if I stay in your house. So I shall look for a house in this city itself and shall do my business here. You too can meet your daughter when ever you wish to.” Listening to these words Dhanadatta felt pacified. Thence Paramadatta led a righteous life of a householder with Punithavathi in Karaikkal.

At this point, Lord Siva performed a ‘lila’ (‘thiruvilayãdal) in their life. One day, a man came to visit Paramadatta in his shop. The visitor gave two ripe mangoes to Paramadatta. Even while seeing those mangoes, Paramadatta was tempted to eat them. He decided to have it at lunch and hence called a boy and ordered him to handover the mangoes to his wife Punithavathi at home. The boy too did as bid.

Receiving the mangoes, Punithavathi placed them before Lord Shiva and went on with her cooking. At that time, a ‘Shivanadiyãr’(devotee of Lord Shiva), with forehead smeared with ashes, neck covered with rudrãksha mãlas, matted hair and chanting ‘Namahshivaya Namahshivaya’, appeared there with a begging bowl in his hand. He shone like a hundred suns due to his penance. Punithavathi prostrated him and requested him to have his food at their place that day. The Sadhu too accepted the invitation. She made him sit on a mat and served food on a leaf.

Since she had not finished cooking vegetables, she cut one of the mangoes sent by her husband into small pieces and served it to the sadhu. Pleased with her hospitality the sadhu blessed her and left. Not long after he left, Paramadatta came home to have his lunch.

“Bring the mangoes I sent in the morning”, he told Punithavathi. Punithavathi too served him the remaining mango. Relishing the mango, he asked her to get the other one too. Punithavathi was in a fix and did not know what to do. A chaste woman that she was, she was devoted to her husband as much as she was devoted to Lord Shiva. She was afraid that she had acted against her husbands’ words by serving the mango to the sadhu. Entering the place of worship, she prayed to the Lord that the blame of disobeying her husband must not befall her. And Lo! By the grace of Lord Shiva, a mango appeared in her hands. She served it to her husband. On eating this mango, Paramadatta experienced an inexplicable bliss. He felt rejuvenated. He told Punithavathi about his experience. Punithavathi could not contain herself any longer and narrated the whole event and sought pardon in case she had committed a mistake.

Paramadatta could not believe her words. At the same time he knew that she would never utter a lie. So he told Punithavathi, “ In case what you tell is true get me another mango from Lord Shiva”. Punithavathi also prayed to Lord Shiva and obtained another mango and offered it to her husband. But another miracle took place! The mango soon disappeared from his hands! Realizing the divinity of Punithavathi, Paramadatta concluded that an ordinary householders’ life cannot be led with such a divine lady. He told her that he is going abroad for trading and left the place. But even after his business was over, he did not return to Karaikkal but went back to Nagapattinam. There he married another lady and begot a baby girl. Paramadatta, who considered Punithavathi as none less than god, named his child after her.

Punithavathi was waiting for a long time for her husband to return. But when she came to know this, she proceeded to Nagapattinam along with the people of her village. Knowing about her arrival, Paramadatta offered her all services fit to be offered to the Lord and prostrated at her feet and addressing the crowd said, “Punithavathi is no ordinary lady. She is divine by nature. She may be worshipped, but to live a life with her as a partner is indeed a great sin”.

Knowing this to be the will of the Lord, Punithavathi prayed to him, “ O Lord! A lady possesses beauty only for the sake of her husband. Why should I possess this appearance any more when my husband himself has disowned me?” Lord Shiva blessed her with the form of a ghost in response to her prayer. From thence, she came to be known as ‘Karaikkal Ammaiyar’. Visiting several shrines of Lord Shiva in the form of ghost, Karaikkal Ammaiyar reached Kailasa, the abode of Lord Shiva, in the Himalayas. She considered it a sin to touch the holy mountain with her feet and hence she tied her legs together and ascended the hill by her head and had the vision of Lord Shiva. Lord Shiva said, “ You need not come this far to see me. I eternally reside in the holy place called Thiruvãlangãdu. You shall attain liberation after having my vision there.” Saying thus, He blessed her.

Karaikkal Ammaiyar went to Thiruvãlangãdu and after having the vision of Lord Shiva over there, she attained ‘Shivapadam’ (The holy feet of Lord Shiva). As Lord Shiva Himself has declared about the greatness of Thiruvãlangãdu to Karaikkal Ammaiyar this holy place is considered to be at par with Kailasa.

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