The princess of Lanka is unable to speak, and her worried father brings her to the Saivite saint Manickavachagar. He makes the girl speak and her first words are captured by Manickavachagar in his Tiruvachagam, where in one section, a girl asks questions about Lord Siva, and the princess answers. Gnana about Him comes to even the humblest, and to get that gnana, one needs His grace, said K. Sambandan, in a discourse. In the case of the princess, that gnana comes to her because she is brought to Manickavachagar, demonstrating that His devotees lead us to gnana.
In one of the verses, the first girl mocks Siva and says He wears ash on His body. The princess answers that He is not to be thought of mockingly. He owns the whole world, and is the abode of all riches. The question is then asked, if Lord Siva is rich, then why does He wear a mere loin cloth? The answer is that He wears the Vedas themselves as His clothes. “He has His Consort Parvati to one side. Why does He need another?” asks the girl. The reference here is to the river Ganga, who is seen on His head. The answer is that if He had not borne Ganga on His head, the world would have been destroyed. When Bhagiratha brought the Ganga down to the earth, to save his ancestors, the force of the mighty river was such, that if it had fallen directly on the earth, it would have destroyed the earth. So the force of its fall had to be broken. Lord Siva, by trapping Ganga in His locks, saved the world from harm. The princess also says that if the Lord were not with His Consort Parvati, then the people in this world would lose the desire to procreate. So because She is present by His side, the world is kept populated.
