Onam, the biggest festival for Malayalees all over the world is being celebrated this Sunday with merriment. This is despite the Kerala Government’s decision to do away with Onam festivities in the backdrop of the landslides and floods in Wayanad district that claimed more than 400 lives in July 2024.
The festival falls in the Malayalam month of Chingam (August-September) to mark the annual visit of King Mahabali to Kerala to greet his citizens. It is widely believed that Mahabali ruled the State for decades before he was sent to the netherworld by the Gods who felt threatened by the goodwill and affection enjoyed by the former among his countrymen.
The story is that Lord Mahavishnu disguised as a bhikshu approached Mahabali and requested him for three measures of land which was granted immediately. The bhikshu measured the entire kingdom with his first two steps and stood searching for a space to keep his foot to acquire the third measure. Since there was no more land, the King, known for his honesty, offered his own head for Mahavishnu to keep his feet. Thus, the Lord sent Mahabali to the netherworld by pushing the latter down.
The belief among Malayalees is that the region which is known by the name Kerala was carved out of Arabian Sea by Parashurama who threw his axe from Gokarnam in Karnataka towards the south. The land thus reclaimed was known as Kerala. What does not fit in this recounting is that Parashuram was the sixth avatar of Mahavishnu while Vamana, who approached Mahabali with request for land was the fifth out of the ten avatars!
Rama Chandran, author and chronicler of Kerala’s history, says there are glaring mismatches that prove there never existed a king by name Mahabali at any point of time. Contrary to the claims that Mahabali was a popular ruler, there is no memorial in his honour anywhere in the State. But there is a big temple dedicated to Vamana, the reincarnation of Mahavishnu at Thrikkakkara, a suburb of Ernakulam where thousands gather every year to observe Vamana Jayanthi.
Historians like S Sanku Iyer and Neelakanta Sasthrikal are silent about Mahabali or Onam in their works. Rama Chandran recounted verses from Bhagawata, one of the great Puranas of Sanatana Dharma that discusses a wide range of topics including cosmology, astronomy, geography and legend. The Bhagawata is silent about the Mahabali. “The Ashtama Skandam in Bhagawata and verses from Rig Veda (Vishnu Sooktham), the Skanda Puranam all reject the theory of Mahabali. Though there are proofs of the existence of a Mahabali, the grandson of Prahlada, his kingdom was on the banks of Narmada and he had nothing to do with Kerala,” said Rama Chandran.
The story of Mahabali and Vamana suits the convenience of modern day politicians for obvious reasons, late Thuravoor Viswambharan had said in his speeches. What stands out now is that Onam has become Kerala’s biggest shopping festival with each manufacturer of household articles setting target of thousands of crores during the season. Mahabali is portrayed as a comic character who evokes laughter by his physique as well as troubles he faced with a myriad crowd during his annual trip to the State.
Those who swear by scientific temper maintain a stoic silence over the veracity of Mahabali’s story. The ambrosial Onam feasts by the likes of chef Suresh Pillai and the unbelievable discounts offered by shopping malls have bowled over even the toughest among cynics. The Onam which we see in TV is nothing but commercial events. “The new clothes that we wear for the festival and the feast we prepare are by products of the commercialisation of Onam,” says Mankombu Gopalakrishnan, lead poet.
