A King in Exile

A noble king loved by his people is exiled from his kingdom…His only sin?...He bent his back a bit too much!...For who?..And why?..

Are the people celebrating the return of their much beloved king?..Or are the people celebrating his banishment?...Or both?...

The ‘Popular’ version of Onam

There is no specified period in history where Onam as a festival began to be celebrated in the geographical region now forming modern day Kerala. In fact the origin of the word ‘Onam’ has not yet been discovered. Today it is taken for granted that the following version for the origin of Onam is the socially accepted version-

There lived an Asura king by the name of Bali, much loved by the citizens of his kingdom. So great was his prowess that he was able to conquer even Heaven-the kingdom of the Devas. Naturally the Devas were much agitated and they requested Lord Vishnu to intervene and restore their kingdom from the hands of Bali. Lord Vishnu decided to descend to Earth in the form of the Brahmin dwarf/boy Vamana.

After some time Bali was conducting a ritual with the help of his guru Shukracharya. Amidst the gathering there arrived a Brahmin dwarf/boy who was none other Vamana. Now it was the practice of kings to present gifts to Brahmins who happened to be present during such rituals. Bali therefore asked Vamana what gift would he like.

Vamana’s reply was that he needed the land that is covered by only three footsteps. Shukracharya realizing the danger behind such a ‘tiny’ request warned Bali against granting the gift to Vamana. However being a man of his word Bali accepted to grant Vamana the same.

Suddenly Vamana grew into a giant of enormous proportions and with his first footstep covered the entire Earth. With his second step he covered Heaven. Now there was nowhere to place his third step! Bali realizing that he had lost his entire kingdom on Earth and Heaven placed his head before Vamana to put his third and final footstep.

And thus with his third and final footstep Vamana send Bali to the Netherworld. Though Bali’s ‘great sacrifice’ makes him Maha-Bali he requested Vishnu and got a favour in return-the chance to visit his kingdom and his people atleast once a year.

This ‘chance’ is now celebrated as Onam.

Symbolic/Significant Meanings

What does one understand from the story of Mahabali? Are there any political or social messages underwritten in the story of the exiled king?...

A political agenda

As mentioned earlier Mahabali was an Asura king. The Asuras and Devas were always at war with each other. Just like a movie script, the Devas are seen as the heroes and the Asuras as the villains. The hero must win at the end of the day at the cost of the villain.

If we realize that life has more to offer than movie scripts and accept that everybody has a hero-villain inside each one of us how would the Deva-Asura rivalry be seen? And could the hero in one person’s eyes be a villain in front of another person? This thought gains light when one sees that in Persian mythology Daivas are the villains and the Ahuras are the heroes! So it is possible that one’s heroes may be another person’s villains!

So the Devas and the Asuras could be a mixture of both hero and villain. So what? What if it is told that they shared the same blood? The same father according to Hindu mythology!

In a political context the Deva-Asura rivalry can be seen as nothing but a political struggle to capture power and land-the prized possessions for any king.

The Devas had no issues with Mahabali till he captured their kingdom- Heaven. So the defeat of Mahabali, an Asura king by Lord Vishnu at the request of the Devas is nothing but a victory of the Devas. For a king to get banished from his own kingdom is nothing short of the ultimate humiliation that can be imposed on him.

In the midst of this Deva-Asura rivalry is there space for the people’s choice to be heard?...

A social agenda

As mentioned earlier Lord Vishnu comes in the form of Vamana, the Brahmin dwarf/boy. According to Hindu mythology Lord Vishnu comes in ten forms, Dasavatar, at different periods of time to defeat evil persons who happen to Asuras invariably.

In the Dasavatar, the Vamana avatar is the only human form which Lord Vishnu takes and that too in the form of a Brahmin. It was the norm and custom of ancient kings to give ‘Daanam’ (gifts) to Brahmins frequently on auspicious occasions. Mahabali being no different does the same to Vamana.

What does one read into the consequences of Mahabali giving ‘Daanam’ to Vamana? Should he have listened to his guru Shukracharya and refused to give ‘Daanam’ to Vamana? And was it possible for Lord Vishnu to appear in the form of only a Brahmin and defeat Mahabali, a righteous king loved by his people?

Caught between disobeying his guru and refusing to gift a Brahmin Mahabali chose the former. With fatal consequences as we observe. In short Mahabali bends his will at the hands (and feet) of the Brahmin.

This dilemma faced by Mahabali was shared by many rulers in different parts of India. Even if they had conquered vast areas of land and yielded considerable power the king could not afford to be ‘socially’ accepted except with the tacit stamp of approval of the Brahmin.  This peculiar situation comes into significance when one sees that most of the rulers were from non- Brahmin backgrounds. Shivaji could only be accepted as the undisputed ruler of the Marathas after he was coronated by a Brahmin priest.

In short, even a king’s regal status is determined by the Brahmin. He is crowned by the Brahmin as in the case of Shivaji. And he is removed by the Brahmin as in the case of Mahabali!

One can understand the full significance of this scenario when one observes the present day Travancore royal family and the issue of Sri Padmanbhaswamy Temple. If the male head of the family misses even a day’s morning prayers he is liable to pay a fine to the Temple! Innumerable other social-religious sanctions have been placed on the royal family by the Brahmin priests so much so that they cannot afford to challenge the Brahmin because their own position has been interlinked with the Brahmin.

In the midst of this king-Brahmin alliance is there space for the people’s choice to be heard?...

Vamana- The Priests above the Kings

The analogy of Vamana is not restricted the Mahabali episode alone. There are references to a character like Vamana in Sikhism and Jainism.

In the Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, Vamana is mentioned as the enticer of Baliraja. It is also stated

‘’ In Satyayuga, you sported as the dwarf incarnation, and fooled Bali.”

According to Jainism there lived a king of Ujjain called Srivarman. Srivarman had an excellent minister Namuchi whose only weakness was his pride. Namuchi dared to challenge a Jain sanyasi Suvratan as a result of which he was banished from Ujjain.

Namuchi managed to reach Hastinapur where he impressed Prince Mahapadman who made Namuchi his minister. Namuchi soon became the trusted aide of Mahapadman.

 Mahapadman’s father King Padmothaman and elder brother Prince Vishnukumaran had relinquished their kingdom and had become Jain sanyasis with Suvratan as their guru.

Namuchi requested Mahapadman to gift his kingdom to him for the purpose of conducting a sacrifice. Being obliged Mahapadman hands over his kingdom to Namuchi who conducts the sacrifice attended by a lot of sanyasis. Except Suvratan.

Realizing that Suvratan did not attend his function he curses Suvratan and threatens to kill him. Suvratan and other Jain sanyasis come to Vishnukumaran and ask him to pacify Namuchi. Vishnukumaran is unable to do so and in despair asks Namuchi only to give the sanyasis land measuring just three feet to live. Namuchi agrees to their demand.

Suddenly Vishnukumaran grows in size and grabs Namuchi in his mighty hand and throws him away. His younger brother Mahapadman immediately comes to see Vishnukumaran and falls at his feet. It is only then that Vishnukumaran returns to his normal form.

What the above parallel interpretations show is that Vamana is symbolic for the priestly class who are able to keep an upper hand over the king. The ruler may be a righteous king Mahabali or an arrogant minister like Namuchi. But what matters in the end is that the priest manages to defeat him! If the priest is able to defeat a powerful person such as a king or a minister what hope is there for the voiceless masses?..

The case of Thrikkakara Temple

There are quite a few Temples devoted Vamana within and outside Kerala. The most famous of them is the Vamanamoorthy Temple at Thrikkakara in Ernakulam District of Kerala. Thrikkakara is considered as the place where Vamana stamped on Mahabali’s head and banished him to the Netherworld.  There are two myths connecting the Onam festival to the village of Thrikkakara other than the Mahabali story.

 Parasurama in Hindu mythology is considered as the warrior who created Kerala by reclaiming the land from the ocean. He is also credited as the one who ‘gifted’ the entire land of Kerala to Brahmins! The place where Parasurama gave the land of Kerala to the Brahmins is considered as Thrikkakara. While doing so Parasurama granted them a boon by saying that whenever the Brahmins needed him all they had to do was meditate on him. One day the Brahmins experimented with this boon for no necessary reason. As a result when Parasurama appeared he was angry and demanded that there should be a festival ready when he visited Thrikkakara on Thiruvonam day. To fulfill that demand Onam is celebrated according to this version.

According to the Malayalam calendar, the Onam programmes at the Temple are carried over ten days starting with the Attham period in the month of Chingam (August- September). The beginning of Attham is observed with the Kodiyettu (flag hoisting) ceremony conducted by Brahmin priests. A pyramidal statue symbolizing Vamana called Onathappan or Thrikkakara-appan is installed during this time.

The public procession of Atthachamayam soon follows where performances of dance and music such as Panchavadyam and Pulikali take place. In earlier times the Maharaja of Kochi used this occasion to show his regal splendor in front of his subjects. The festival ends on the tenth day when the flag is lowered and the Vamana idol is bathed.

Is the occasion of Mahabali returning to his kingdom and meeting his subjects being celebrated here?...Or is it the defeat and banishment of an Asura king by the Brahmin Vamana being celebrated?..

And is it possible to celebrate both?..

Onam- Alternative Origin(s)?

While the popular version is the socially accepted one today amongst Malayalees and non- Malayalees there abounds plenty of other theories for the origin of Onam in the form of myths, rituals and folklore.

Buddhism was popular in Kerala in ancient times before the onset of Brahminical Hinduism. It is said that a Buddhist king instituted the custom of Onam with the alienation of Buddhism and the arrival of Aryan religion in Kerala. Two points must be remembered here to understand this in the proper context. One, Buddhism was seen as a challenge to Brahminical HIndusim. Secondly, there is no parallel in world history where the elimination of one religion at the hands of another religion is ‘celebrated’.

William Logan states in his famous ‘Malabar Manual’ that Onam was celebrated as the start of the New Year in the Malabar region (Northern districts on modern day Kerala). According to Logan Thiruvonam was the day when the king Cheraman Perumal started his journey to Mecca after his conversion to Islam. This event is almost a replica of the Mahabali version. Cheraman Perumal was a popular king in Kerala and his conversion to Islam and subsequent journey to Mecca without returning to rule his kingdom can be seen as an exile similar to Mahabali’s plight.

Onam- a time to Feast or a time to Fast?

                                                              

                                                             It is sung of Mahabali:-

When Maveli, our King, ruled the land,

All the people were equal.

And people were joyful and merry;

They were all free from harm.

There was neither anxiety nor sickness,

Deaths of children were unheard of,

There were no lies,

There was neither theft nor deceit,

And no one was false in speech either.

Measures and weights were right;

No one cheated or wronged his neighbour.

When Maveli, our King, ruled the land,

All the people formed one casteless race

Many Malayalees, mostly from the Dalit and non- Brahmin communities have not been celebrating Onam. On the contrary they see the occasion as the perfect manifestation where a popular king was removed by deceit at the hands of the priestly class. Just like Good Friday where Christians generally fast on the occasion of their Lord Jesus having been crucified, these people also fast on Thiruvonam remembering the day their king Mahabali was banished from the land.

While some may criticize their actions as being of a minority viewpoint the political and social reasons behind their actions cannot be ignored especially in a society like Kerala’s that calls itself egalitarian, progressive and educated but still suffers from the closed caste-community mentality when it comes to important functions in one’s personal lives such as birth, marriage and death.

This website is a small attempt to ensure that there is a space for their voices to be heard..