Onam or Thiruvonam is a festival that is celebrated in the month of Chingam or Shravana in the southern state of Kerala. It is a festival that is closely connected with Vamana- the 5th avatara of Vishnu. Lord Vishnu is the harmoniser in the Hindu Trinity made up of Brahma - the creator, Vishnu - the harmoniser, and Shiva - the destroyer. Vishnu is supposed to have taken ten incarnations to uplift the world and free it from the thraldom of the demons.

The whole festival of Onam centres round the demon king called Mahabali who conquered the heavens and forcefully evicted the devas or demi gods, led by their king, Indra. The unhappy gods went with their woes to Vishnu who promised to help them to get their domain back. He took birth in a Brahmin household on the full moon day of the month of Shravana under the star known as Shravana which is called Thiruvonam in Malayalam. Soon after his birth he took on the form of a twelve-year old boy. The little boy who was called Vamana due to his dwarfish size, was invested with the sacred thread and given all the accoutrements of a Brahmachari or a celibate student. He held a staff in one hand and an umbrella in the other and he was asked to go and beg for his food as is customary for a Brahmachari who had just been invested with the holy thread. Boys of that age are invested with the sacred thread at the age of twelve. (Refer the article on Raksha Bandhan).

He was informed that the great king of the land, Mahabali was holding a huge fire ceremony or “Yaga” to which everyone had been invited. It was a good opportunity for the little Brahmachari to go and beg from the king of the land.

Vamana set out purposefully towards the palace but it is said that at every step he took the whole of the earth shook as if to proclaim his future grandeur. Such was the splendour emanating from Vamana, that when he reached the court where the king and all the sages and other great souls were assembled, the king, even though he was the emperor of all the worlds, as well as all the others, stood up to welcome him. Mahabali went forward to receive him and gave him a seat of honour. Respectfully the king requested him to ask for any boon he liked. “I am capable of giving you anything on this earth or in any of the other worlds,” he said proudly.

Vamana smiled his mysterious smile as if he thought, “This man is offering this small speck of land known as the earth to me, who am the master of this cosmos. I must curb his pride. Meekly he said, “All I want are three steps of land.”

Mahabali roared with laughter and said, “I thought you were an intelligent boy but I see now that you are only a child. You have come to the palace of one who owns the whole earth and heavens and you are stupid enough to ask for only three steps of land.”

Vamana replied, “Only the person who is satisfied when all his needs are met with, can be said to be truly fulfilled. Such a person is indeed a king. What is the use of having more than one really needs? What would I do with it? I want only three steps of land.”

Mahabali agreed and proceeded to solemnise the promise with some water which he took in the palm of his hand and was all set to pour it into Vamana’s little palm. Immediately he was stopped by Shukracharya, his guru (spiritual guide).

“O King!” he said, “This little boy is none other than Vishnu who has been sent by the devas to defeat you. It is some trick. Do not give him anything!” Mahabali was surprised but to his eternal credit he replied, “I deem it a great honour that Vishnu, the great god of all the worlds has come to beg from me. Moreover, I will never go back on the promise I made to him even if it means death for me!”

Vamana was very happy to hear these wonderful words coming from the mouth of this asura (demon), who he felt was truly his devotee. Suddenly, the little body of the dwarf started to enlarge until it became a gigantic figure whose head could not be seen since it soared above the earth. With one step he measured the whole earth and with the other, all the heavens. Then in a thunderous voice he boomed, “Where is the third step that you promised me O Mahabali!”

Without turning a hair Mahabali whispered, “O Lord if you will only return to your original size, you can place your little foot on my head and thus enable me to keep my promise of giving you three steps of land.”

Vamana promptly returned to his original size and placed his sacred foot on the bowed head of the great king who was determined to keep his promise despite all odds. He pressed his little foot down on the crowned head of the king and sent him along with his retinue to one of the nether worlds called Sutala, in which he was installed as the sole emperor. The devas were re-installed in their heaven.

Turning to king he said, “O Mahabali! You are indeed a noble soul and will be known as one of my greatest devotees even though you have been born in the clan of the asuras. I have great admiration for you and I promise that I myself will become your gate keeper and see to it that no enemy shall ever conquer you.”

Mahabali then begged him to be allowed to return to the land he loved at least once a year. Vamana agreed and it is said that Mahabali returns every year on Thiruvonam day to the land of Kerala to bless his people. This was the day of Vamana’s birth. Of course, he is always accompanied by Vamana who comes before him to make everything ready for his arrival. Due to this both the asura king Mahabali and Lord Vishnu as Vamana are welcomed by the Keralites during Onam. This makes Onam a unique festival in which the victor and the vanquished are both worshipped at the same time.

This is the true background story of the festival of Onam which is celebrated to honour the fifth incarnation of Vishnu known as Vamana and to show the greatness of the king who kept his promise even though he knew that great harm might come to him. This is the attitude which the rulers of any country should have - to see to the welfare of their people before their own welfare and to keep the promises made by them to the citizens of the country they rule. This is the glorious tradition of the land of Kerala and every Onam is a fulfilment of the promise made by Vamana to help them provided they kept their promises like Mahabali.

Hindus follow the lunar month made up of twenty-eight days. On each day of every month one star will be in ascendance. A lot of importance is given in our horoscopes to the star on which we are born. That is what decides our physical and mental qualities. The word Onam is a shortened form of Thiruvonam which is the Kerala version of the star known as Shravana in Sanskrit. Vishnu in his form as Vamana was born on this day - the full moon day of the month of Shravana on the star called Shravana or Thiruvonam. The place where the holy feet (Trikkal) of Vishnu touched the earth came to be known as Trikkal kara. This later degenerated to Thrikkakara. The idol of Vamana was installed in the temple of Trikkakara on this day centuries ago. It is in the Ernakulam district of Kerala. Even though this is purely a Hindu festival it is celebrated by all Malayalees (those who belong to the state known as Kerala in S.India) both Christians and Muslims.

On the eve of Onam when the star known as Uttradam is in ascendance all Hindu houses in Kerala invite Lord Vishnu in his form as Vamana to come and bless their house. A pyramidal clay figure with four sides and a flat top is made and this is known as Trikkakarappan or the Lord of the temple of Trikkakara which is Vamana. This unique four-sided figure is supposed to represent the four stages in the life of the human being. In modern days when people have no access to clay, we find that these structures are made of wood and sold in shops. The little idol of Trikkakarappan is placed on a banana leaf on which mystic symbols have been drawn with rice flour. Floral arrangements in beautiful patterns are made round the figures. It’s normal to make two smaller versions of Trikkakarappan and keep them on either side of the main idol. These three idols are supposed to represent the three steps of land requested by Vamana.

The actual festival begins ten days before Thiruvonam on the star called Hastha or Attham. From that day onwards, children collect wild flowers and make lovely arrangements outside the house. This is called a “pookalam.” Each day of the ten-day festival is represented in different ways in the “pookalam”. Originally the pookalam consisted of ten concentric rounds. These ten circles were meant to represent the ten avataras or incarnations of Lord Vishnu. On the first day called “attham” the “pookalam” would only have one round, the next day it would become two rounds and finally on Tiruvonam day there would be ten rounds. On the first day the round would be made of one single colour, on the second day two colours and so on till the final day when ten colours were used. Nowadays this tradition is rarely followed, and more importance is given to the design and variety of flowers. People buy bunches of flowers in the market and make huge “pookalams” of every size and shape and even use coloured powders as they do in the “rangolis” (designs made with coloured powders) in N. India.

This year Onam falls on the 21st August. I’m sure the Keralites will make the best of their national holiday of Onam.

The Origin of the story of Mahabali

 In olden days people took everything for granted and accepted the stories as given to them by their grandfathers. Today’s youth has started questioning these stories. They want to know something very pertinent. The avatara of Vamana was the fifth incarnation of Lord Vishnu whereas Kerala was supposed to have come into existence only at the time of Parashurama who was the 6th incarnation. So how could Mahabali be given the status of an ancient king of Kerala?

We normally find that in Hinduism our so-called mythological stories are always woven round some actual facts or some scientific truth.

It is a fact that most of the castes found in Kerala are immigrants. There is no indigenous community in Kerala. The Namboodiri Brahmins of Kerala actually came from the Narmada belt of central Bharat. Parashurama himself was a Bhargava Brahmin. In fact, one of his other names is Bhargava. According to the Vishnu Purana, Mahabali did his Mahayajna to which Vamana came, on the banks of the Narmada River which was close to the ashrama of Shukracharya, the guru of the asuras. The place was known as Brahukutche which is modern Bharuch in Gujarat. Parashurama is said to have encouraged these Brahmins to migrate to the land that is now known as Kerala. He is said to have brought up the land from the ocean due to his great powers. Or perhaps it was reclaimed from the ocean by him as Krishna’s Dwaraka.

 When communities migrate, it is common for them to carry their beliefs with them. So, they re-created the story of Parashurama distributing sacrificial lands to Brahmins and kept alive the story of Mahabali and Vamana. Hence Mahabali became a king of Kerala and many stories were woven round him and Vamana and how he came down at Trikkakara and so on. Hence our mythology is part and parcel of our history.

May Lord Vamana bless us and remain with us forever.

Happy Onam to All!