At that time the God Narayana, intending to test the devotion of the rishi, came there as an old muni looking very hungry and thirsty. On seeing him, Saalihothirar greeted him and offered a portion of the rice he had kept for himself, but Narayana wanted the entire quantity of rice. Saalihothirar was very happy to give all of the food to his guest, starving himself. After eating the food, Narayana asked, "where do I sleep?" (Tamil: Ev-uL-uRangalAm). Saalihothirar asked him to sleep in his own hut.