Paramacharya as Goddess Annapurani- Continued..

There was an incident when Paramacharya served food for an entire army of dogs.

He was observing chAturmAsyam at Vasanta Krishnapuram near Tirukkovalur in the year 1947. The peak of Tiruvannamalai hill, about twenty kilometers away, was visible from that place. Paramacharya used to perform a puja for the mountain that was Lord Siva’s form at where he stayed, with a darshan of the peak.

During one such puja, when he was meditating, a dog came and put its mouth to the water in the kamandaluh. The people around were very much upset by this happening, and a devotee who was a retired government official, threw a stone at the dog, which ran howling, and stopped at a safe distance.

Paramacharya’s eyes opened at the anxious hubbub. He looked at the people around him and ordered: “Collect all the available dishes from the houses of the agrahAram. Also bring bucketful of water.”

The volunteers group that included retired official went around and brought the food and water. As Paramacharya gestured, the dog that was standing at a distance came near and stopped hesitatingly. As he gestured a second time, something very strange happened.

An army of dogs came from nowhere and calmly arranged themselves in a row, without showing any signs of hurry for the food that was before them. Paramacharya offered food and water to the dogs through the retired official who had stoned the dog earlier.