A unique kind of world record was created in Kakkadu Maha Ganapathi Temple at Kunnamkulam last week by Karakura Ramachandran Nair (68), a traditional folk artist. Nair broke more than 36,000 coconuts single-handedly by throwing them with force in front of the presiding deity of the temple, Vettakkoru Makan. It was a long event on 4 January performed without any kind of interruption or break.
Vettakkoru Makan is a tribal God born out of the relation between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvathi during their sojourn to India to gift Arjuna, the famous Paasupathastra. Since both Lord Shiva and his consort were in the form of Kirata (hunters), the child was known as Vettakkoru Makan (son of hunters) and is worshipped by the tribes dwelling in the forest. The child was mischievous and found pleasure in tormenting the Devas and Asuras alike. Both the groups approached Lord Mahavishnu seeking his solace.
Lord Vishnu with a churika (sword-cum-dagger) appeared in front of Vettakkoru Makan who pleaded with the former to part with the special weapon. The Lord said that he was willing to hand over the weapon to him provided he behaved in a responsible manner and the child prodigy agreed to do so. In order to propitiate the good will of the child, the tribals started a ritual whereby they would break coconuts numbering 12,000 or more in front of him and this is performed without any break.
“The ritual of breaking of 36,000 coconuts commenced around 8 PM and went up to the wee hours of Sunday watched by thousands of devotees. There was no break of any kind during the entire process,” Nair told The Pioneer. In Malabar region of Kerala, Vettakkoru Makan is worshipped by all sections of people irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
Nair also disclosed that Saturday’s event is likely to figure in the Guinness Book of World Records. “This is a ritual performed to make the deity calm, cool and happy. Many devotees have disclosed to us about the changes that happened in their lives following the breaking of coconut ritual,” said Nair.
He is helped in the ritual by a group of youngsters who ensure that coconuts reach the podium and Nair could complete the process without any hitch. There should not be any kind of interruption during the ritual lest the deity gets annoyed and becomes furious.
“This is an integrated form of ritual in which the mind, body and health all work in synchronization with the person. I rate this as a ritual art with aesthetic sense because the breaking of coconuts is accompanied by folk songs in praise of the deity and the machine- like functioning of the body matching with the non-stop playing percussion instruments,” said Dr M G Gireesh, a physicist-turned Indologist.
