Pakkanar was a legendary figure in the history of ancient Kerala. Many stories were told against his name. In all of them there will be something either to ridicule the crude caste system and untouchability prevalent in Kerala till the middle of last century or to highlight the fate of the greed of people for amassing excessive wealth which leads to their ultimate disaster. Man Killer is one such story narrating the miserable fate of greed.

Pakkanar was a poor man. He used to earn his living by selling winnows made of bamboo. Every day early in the morning he used to go to the nearby forest to cut bamboo. His wife will make seven winnows out of it. Pakkanar will sell the winnows by taking it from house to house. He used to make bitter bargain with the household women for getting good price for his winnows. But his philosophy is that he need only the money sufficient for a day. Once he got that much he will leave the place without waiting for the lady who went inside with the winnow she bought, to bring the money.

Pakkanar was a devotee of Lord Shiva. One day Goddess Parvathy, wife of Lord Shiva, appealed to Lord Shiva to save Pakkanar from his poverty by giving his blessings. Lord Shiva told Goddess Parvathi that Pakkanar won't accept any such things from anybody and he is happy in living by his own hard earnings. The Goddess was not prepared to accept his version as She believed that it is the human nature to enjoy on somebody else's earnings. Lord Shiva told her that her assumption is not correct as far as Pakkanar is concerned and He was prepared to prove it.
One day, as usual, Pakkanar went to the forest to cut bamboo. But, to his surprise, when he cut the bamboo, gold coins began to pour down from it. Seeing this Pakkanar ran from that site to another. But the same thing repeated wherever he went.
He then ran away from the forest even without collecting the bamboo he cut, crying that it may be the wish of the Lord that they should starve on that day.
On the way he saw three people riding on horseback. They thought that he is running away seeing some wild animals. They asked him why he is running away. Pakkanar told them that there is a man killer and so don't proceed further. But ignoring his advice they went ahead keeping their arms ready. When they entered the forest, to their great surprise, they saw heaps of gold coins there. They collected as much as they can in their gunny bags.
On their way back home as they felt hungry, they sent one among them to bring food. The man who went for food mixed poison in the food of his companions to make the entire treasure his own. At this time the other two planned to kill the third so that they can own the gold one half each. So they hide behind a tree and killed him on the way. They then decided to divide the bounty after eating the food. When they ate the poison mixed food the inevitable happened, both died. The prophecy of Pakkanar became true that wealth is a Man killer.

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