Page:Castes and Tribes of Southern India, Volume 6.djvu/151

king to have her enclosed in a box, and floated down a river with a nail stuck into her head. The box was taken possession of by a Brāhman, who was bathing lower down, and, on opening it, he found a beautiful girl, whom he considered to be a divine gift, and regarded as his own daughter. One day the Brāhman, seeing Vararuchi passing by, invited him to mess with him, and his invitation was accepted on condition that he would prepare eighteen curries, and give him what remained after feeding a hundred Brāhmans. The Brāhman was puzzled, but the maiden, taking a long leaf, placed thereon a preparation of ginger corresponding to eighteen curries, and with it some boiled rice used as an offering at the Vaiswadeva ceremony, as the equivalent of the food for Brāhmans. Knowing this to be the work of the maiden, Vararuchi desired to marry her, and his wish was acceded to by the Brāhman. One day, while conversing with his wife about their past lives, he chanced to see a nail stuck in her head, and he knew her to be the girl whom he had caused to be floated down the stream. He accordingly resolved to go on a pilgrimage with his wife, bathing in rivers, and worshipping at temples. At last they came to Kērala, where the woman bore him twelve sons, all of whom, except one, were taken care of by members of different castes. They were all remarkable for their wisdom, and believed to be the avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu, gifted with the power of performing miracles. One of them was Pakkanar, the great Malayālam bard. Once, it is said, when some Brāhmans resolved to go to Benares, Pakkanar tried to dissuade them from so doing by telling them that the journey to the sacred city would not be productive of salvation. To prove the fruitlessness of their journey, he plucked a lotus flower from a stagnant pool, and gave