As Kerala is getting ready to celebrate Onam — the national festival of the State — the legend of Mahabali based on whom the festival is centred has collapsed like a pack of cards thanks to scientific temper and what is mentioned in Bhagawatam, an epic composed by Veda Vyasa.
The name Mahabali finds mention only in Bhagawatam and that too as a small character, according to poet Akkitham Achyuthan Namboodiri, who was honoured with Jnanapeetham as well as Padma Shri by the President of India.
This has been further substantiated by K Unnikrishnan Namboodiri, vedic scholar and revered as an authority on Kerala’s heritage.
Rest of the country celebrate Onam as Vamana Jayanthi while in Kerala, Vamana, one of the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu is portrayed as a villain who defeated Mahabali in a war of nerves.
The proponents of Onam in Kerala claim that Mahabali was a ruler par excellence and his tenure was marked as an era of honesty and strict administrative regime.
“But what derails this legend is the fact that there was no Kerala when Mahabali was exiled to the nether world by Vamana.
“According to historians, Kerala was created by Parashurama, one of the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu.
“Parasurama was born centuries after Mahabali was despatched to the nether world,” said Namboodiri while addressing the delegates of Sreemad Bhagawath Sapthaha Jnana Yagjam, a week long integrated programme in Sanskrit on science and technology being held at Thiruvananthapuram.
Both Akkitham and Namboodiri quotes Bhagawatam to prove their arguments.
Mahabali had been defeated and killed by Lord Indra in the battle for heaven and was brought back to life by Sage Sukacharya.
Bhagawatam said Mahabali wanted to conquer heaven and he was blessed in this pursuit by Sukacharya.
“Since Mahabali was blessed by Sukacharya in his bid to conquer the heaven, the only person who could stop from that mission was Lord Vishnu.
“The Lord disguised himself as a Bramachari named Vamana and appeared before Mahabali seeking alms. Bali who was blinded with pride and arrogance told the Brahmachari that he could ask for anything under the Sun and it would be granted immediately. Vamana requested the King for just three measures of land and the latter asked him to take the required land. Vamana measured earth and heaven with the first two steps and found himself without any place to acquire the third measure,” said Namboodiri.
The vedic scholar quoting Bhagawatam said Bali, as an atonement for the arrogance offered the Brahmachari his own head to keep the feet for third measure of land. Vamana before placing his feet on the head Bali gave him salvation and the chapter on Bali concludes with it.
Professor MG Sasibhushan, eminent historian, is of the view that Mahabali and his story are mere myths.
“But there are evidences in historical records that Onam was celebrated as Vamana Jayanthi. By 15th century agriculturists who belonged to the Nair and Eezhava community started to celebrate Onam as a harvest festival. There is no proof of the existence of Mahabali and the general belief is that he is a manufactured character,” said Prof Sashibhushan.
Onam has become the State’s biggest shopping festival while Mahabali is being portrayed as a comic character identifiable with his pot-belly and handle-bar moustache. Instead of reverence, what comes to mind is a kind of sympathy for Maha Bali,” says Namboodiri.
