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CU. XXX. EYES PLUCKED. igg
' Dronam asti tatah param,' and then signed hia name under it.
The meaning of this pa.ssage is :
" But drona is higher than
that." This, and " Sivdt parataram ndsti," meaning :
is no higher than
'
there
Siva,' together make a couplet in San.skrit
verse. Taken togther, they read :— " There is no higher than
Siva ;
but Drona is higher than that (Siva)." By this KurS.sa
implicated a pun on the terms Siva and Drona ;
Siva meaning
a small measure, and Drona, a greater measure. This play on
words was taken as a slight and affront which necessarily
threw the king into a rage, who exclaimed :
" Pull out the
eyes of this daring jester." " But " exclaimed KiirSsa in
return, " thou needst not take that trouble, tyrant ; I will
do that act with my own hands, for my eyes ought not to
remain after seeing a sinner like thyself." ' A martyr to the
cause of Vaishnavism, KurSsa, so
saying, gouged out his eyes,
striking terror into all who witnessed this blood-curdling scene.
The cruel king now turned to the venerable old dcMrya
Mahapurna, and cried :— " Now, Sir, will yon sign this circular
or no ? " Piirna said he could not, supporting his refusal by
On this, the king commanded
citations from various scriptures.
his myrmidons to catch the dissenter and pluck out his eyes.
This cruelty having been inflicted the king drove the two
martyrs out of his palace.
Blood streamed out of the eye-less cavities of old Purna, and
the poignant agony consequent may be better imagined than described.
Purna's daughter Attuzhay-amm&l had followed the
martyrs unobserved. When they emerged from the palace with
gore dripping and drenching their persons, she ran to them, and
leading them by their hands, passed out of sight, and comforted
and consoled them as best as she could, wiping their bloody
faces, bathing with water, and thus doing her best to stop the
blood and alleviate their terrible sufferings. Kiir6sa was
middle-aged, and had besides a strong will, which he further
strengthened by the reflection :
" Ah, God, what grace of Thine
indeed that thou, hast phosen me as Thy vessel
to give eye for
' For otiier particulars of conversation, see Topic 101, in our
Pivine Wisdom of Dravida Saints, p. 118.