In plain words
Very close by, a temple of Īśvara came into view, fallen into ruin. He used the money he had taken for the horses to build that temple, and made the ruined temple over into a holy one. In this way, word reached the Mahārāja that the minister had stayed on at Perundurai and was spending the money like this. This Pāṇḍya country is full of great Bhakti and prapatti. The Mahārāja of the Pāṇḍya country was himself a man of much Bhakti and prapatti. But angry that the royal command had been disobeyed, he sent soldiers and told them to bring him back. The minister, when he came, gave fitting answers to the questions the Mahārāja asked. ‘How did you spend this money you took for the horses?’ he asked. ‘King! I spent it for the sake of God,’ he said. Everything is nothing but the gift of God's grace. ‘I have spent His own gift on Him alone,’ he said. ‘Not only did I spend it; I offered it to Him,’ he said. ‘But is it just to use this money, set aside for one task, on another?’ said the king. ‘I did not use it for any task of nature, of the body, of the world. To divinity alone, divine, splendid and ever new, I have offered everything,’ he said. Because he gave so harsh an answer, the Pāṇḍya king grew angry. ‘Take him away and put him in prison,’ he said. They put this minister in prison. All the while he was in that prison, he kept turning over without a break the teachings this Yogīśvara had given, and went on writing a number of verses on them. For so many days he went on writing so many verses. He gave it the name ‘Tiruvācakam’. It means a sacred reading. Sacredness is held within it. In Telugu this is called a śataka. In Tamil they called this very thing a vācakam. One day the Mahārāja sent for this man, who, writing in this way, kept sanctifying his time without a break and was enjoying Ānanda in the prison, not even aware of time itself. His radiance was shining brightly. The Mahārāja himself was amazed to see him. How had such a glow come to a man who was in prison? Because he thought of God without a break, that very reflection kept shining forth in him.