The king of Tanjore (a state in the pre-independent India) was on his deathbed. Doctors had given up all hopes of his recovery. The members of the royal household awaited the end of his life they loved.

The king’s mother along with a party of courtiers went to meet saint Andavan to find a way to save the king. The mother lay prostrate at the feet of the half-necked, ash-besmeared body of the saint.

“Save my son, my lord!” cried the mother, catching hold the feet of the saint.

“Hush! You people do all sorts of foolish things and come to me when you are in danger. Will you do just as I tell you to do?”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Go straight to the palace. Near the ceiling above the king’s head you will find a newly plastered circle on the wall. Cut it open. A pigeon is struggling for life there. Release it forthwith. Your son mercilessly imprisoned it in the wall. It is on account of this heartless action of his that he is suffering. Exactly the same pain that afflicts the pigeon, he has to endure. If the pigeon breathes its last, he too will die at the same moment. Rush! He will survive but you must vow never to cause the least injury to any living creature. Remember that all life is sacred. A bird has as much right to live as the highest god has. Man has no business to interfere with the life-course of any being. Go!”

The mother and the courtiers rushed to the palace. They went straight to the king’s chamber. Masons were summoned and the plaster was removed. It was a pitiable sight. Struggling between life and death lay a pigeon. The mother nursed it back to recovery. The king sat up in his bed. Every grain of rice that the pigeon ate, every drop of water that was put into its mouth revived the king.

The king admitted, “There was a hole in the wall. Pigeons used to live in the hole. They soiled my bed. I felt they were a nuisance, so I ordered that the hole be blocked.”

The mother said, “You have been saved by the grace of saint Andavan. Go to him. Bow to him. Take the vow in his presence that you will never cause the least pain to any living being.”

The king went to the saint. He repented of his mistake and took the vow.

When the saint died, the king had a huge temple built in his memory. He gave vast land to the temple and willed that pigeons be fed from the produce of those lands. This custom is adhered to till today and countless pigeons are fed everyday near to that temple.