Vishṇuchittar

Scholars, devotees and paṇḍits moved from Puttūr to this holy place and made it their home. Among them was Mukunda Bhaṭṭar, a Vaishṇava jñāni, and his wife Padmavalli, a woman of every virtue and a perfect match for him. Both were devoted to Vaṭapatrashāyī, the Lord who reclines upon the banyan leaf. On an auspicious day a son was born to them, and they named him Vishṇuchittar, "the one whose mind dwells always on Vishṇu."

The child lived up to his name in every way, always contemplating how he might win the Lord's grace. Rather than spend his time on the study of the Vedas and Shāstras, he devoted himself wholly to praising the Lord. He knew that when Lord Krishna walked the earth, He loved to wear garlands of many flowers, and so he chose this as his kainkaryam: to pluck flowers early each morning and weave them into exquisite garlands for Sri Vaṭapatrashāyī.

He even sold some of his property and bought a small plot near his home and the temple, which he turned into a beautiful nandavanam. There he grew every kind of flowering plant and creeper, and the sacred tulasī. The garden also held a small pond whose water was as clear as crystal and as pure as Vishṇuchittar's own heart.

He gave all his time to tending this garden and making it ever more beautiful, so that it would yield more and more flowers for the Lord. The flowers bloomed, the tulasī grew tall, and the whole garden became divinely beautiful, filled with the fragrance of jasmine, rose, lotus, pārijātam, alli and tulasī. Every morning before sunrise, Vishṇuchittar bathed, completed his daily observances, went to his garden, gathered flowers of every kind and wove garlands for the Lord, singing His praise all the while.

He took them to the temple and delighted in seeing the Lord adorned with them, and this gave him boundless joy. He was blessed, too, with a wife who shared his love for serving the Lord.