Saint Arunagirinathar

Prior to the advent of Ramana Maharishi, Tiruvannamalai's most famous saint was probably Arunagirinathar, a Murugan bhakta who lived at the foot of Arunachala in the fourteenth century. Reliable information about him is hard to come by for the earliest account of his life was not published until the nineteenth century, about 500 years after he died. Arunagirinathar was born in Tiruvannamalai and spent the greater part of his life there. He was reputed to be the son of a courtesan called Muttammai. As he grew up he found the company of courtesans so attractive, he spent most of his time in their houses. When his mother died, all the properties he inherited from her were squandered to pay for his lust. Arunagirinathar had a sister, Adi, who was very fond of him.Taking advantage of her affection, Arunagirinathar persuaded her to part with her jewels and all her other possessions so that he couldc ontinue to indulge his appetite for the local courtesans. He continued with this way of life for many years. As he became older,his body became diseased and the better class of courtesan began to jeer at him and avoid his company.The major turning point in his life occurred when he had spent all his sister's money. Not knowing that she was destitute, he approached her again in the hope of getting another hand-out. His sister, who had nothing left except the clothes she was wearing ,told him that her funds were exhausted. Since she still loved her brother, and since she still wanted to be of assistance to him she offered him her own body, saying, 'If your lust is so insatiable,you can use my body for your sexual satisfaction'. These words deeply affected and shamed Arunagirinathar. He mentally reviewed the wasted years of his life and came to the conclusion that he had been committing crimes against God. As his sense of shame deepened, he decided to commit suicide by jumping off one of the gopurams in the Arunachaleswara Temple.

Read more at: http://davidgodman.org/asaints/agirinatha1.shtml