Some persons would appear to have objected to the Āzhvār under-rating Śiva, despite his fame as Mārkaṇṭēya’s Saviour, who successfully resisted Yama’s attempt to take away the devotee’s life, at the tender age of sixteen. The Āzhvār now disabuses them of their wrong notions about that episode by giving them the correct perspective in this regard. Sage Mṛkaṇḍu’s ardent
In this eighth pāśuram, Śrī Nammāzhvār addresses a potential objection from those who might ask, "Though the supremacy of Śrīman Nārāyaṇa is established in principle, did not great sages such as Mārkaṇḍēya Ṛṣi achieve their desired goals by approaching other devatās like Rudra?" The Āzhvār lovingly clarifies this profound theological point, explaining that even in