On day of the wedding (in some versions, a day prior to the wedding), while the bridegroom was on the way to the marriage venue at Manakanchara Nayanar's house, Shiva disguised himself as a Mahavrata Shaiva yogi (an ascetic who has kept a great vow), with sacred ash smeared over his body, matted hair and wearing garlands of bones and skulls and a "yagnopavita" (sacred thread worn across the chest) made of human hair called a "panchavati". Manakanchara Nayanar welcomed and honoured the ascetic. The ascetic enquired about the festivities and in response, Manakanchara Nayanar informed him of his daughter's wedding. When she arrived and sought the blessings of the ascetic, he commented that her long hair would have been ideal for making his "panchavati". Without giving it a second thought, taking the statement as a command by the yogi, Manakanchara Nayanar chopped off the hair of his daughter and gifted them to the ascetic, in an act of supreme devotion to Shiva's devotees. Cutting of the hair of a young maiden - especially of a bride - is considered inauspicious and thus a taboo. The daughter of Manakanchara Nayanar had lost her hair, the reason of her beauty, and faced the risk of rejection by the bridegroom. The ascetic disappeared immediately, as soon as he accepted the hair. Shiva along with his consort Parvati gave a divine vision to the family of Manakanchara Nayanar, pleased with their service. The divine couple blessed the family and disappeared.