This article intends to trace the historical evidence and sources associated with Onam and the concept of Vamana and Mahabali. The story spread in association with Onam is that of Mahabali and Vamana, in which the narratives are constructed in such a way as to establish the authority of Mahabali. The historical accuracy to prove Onam as a festival of Mahabali is very limited and almost non-existent. In contrast, it can be seen as a festival of Vamana everywhere in the subcontinent. From the Epics of Bharata to other modern works, references to Vamana, Bali, and Onam can be traced. It is clear from the historical records that the festival celebrated as Onam in Kerala is not limited to Kerala only but is a festival that has importance throughout India.
References Related to Vamana in Rigveda
This celebration is believed to have deep historical roots in India, as suggested by ancient literary sources and eulogistic evidence. The origins of the narrative surrounding Vamana, the deity who obtained dominion over the earth through the acquisition of three strides, can be traced back to the Rigveda. Rigveda mentions:
यो रजांसि विममे पार्थिवानि त्रिश्चिद्विष्णुर्मनवे बाधिताय। तस्य ते शर्मन्नुपदद्यमाने राया मदेम तन्वा३ तना च ॥१३॥
– (Rigveda: 6th Mandala – 49th Sooktha – 13th Mantra)
This means – “O lord all-pervasive, Vishnu, who have created the three regions of the universe for humanity and sustain the three to save us from the limitations of suffering and darkness, we pray that with the abundant and expansive gifts of health and wealth, we may live and enjoy life in this vast home given by you.”
Epics And Onam
Shanti Parva (326th Shloka) of Mahabharata mentions the story of Krishna, who suppresses the asura king Bali. Two times in the Mahabharata, Vamana is the only character mentioned; Bali is left out. Draupadi mentions how Lord Vishnu measures the cosmos in three steps when speaking to Lord Krishna in Vana Parva. Shanti Parva symbolises Vishnu’s birth as Vamana. However, the Bali narrative has been explored as the Bali-Vasava Samvada in Shanti Parva. The Mahabharata’s Vana and Shanti Parva have a section on the Vamana-Bali tale. Son of Aditi, a young Brahmachari who approached Bali, the Danava king, and measured the entire globe with just three steps, is how Mahavishnu is described as being born in this passage. In Adi Parva, the genealogy of Bali is explained. Virochana was the father of Bali. He was the brother of Kumbha and Nikumba, who were Prahlada’s children. Prahlada was the son of Hiranyakashyapu, who was the son of Diti. While taking Lakshmana and Sree Rama to the Siddha Asrama to defend Yaga in the Balakanda of Ramayana, Rishi Vishwamitra tells them the tale of the Vamana Incarnation.
References Of Vamana And Bali In Brahmanas And Puranas
Vamana and Bali characters can be seen in Brahmanas and Puranas also. In Brahmanas, Vishnu appears as Trivikrama in various forms, whereas in Shatapatha, Brahmana Vishnu appears as Vamana. According to the Skanda Purana, the capital of Mahabali is located close to Someshwara of Vastrapath in the Saurashtra Desha, and he performed Aswamedha at Gurukulya Theertha on the banks of Narmada. As per the Bhagavatapurana, that yajna was held at Bhrigukachchha, on the Narmada River’s northern banks. According to the Vamana Purana, Vamana belongs to Kurukshetra. Vamana was born in the Shravani Nakshatra on Bhadrapada Ekadasi, according to the Bhavishya Purana. At the same time, the Bhagavata places Shravana as the period of his birth, Shronam, later changed to Onam, during Bhadrapada’s Shukla Dwadashi. Vamana, Vishnu’s Vishwaroopa Trivikrama form, is also extensively described in the Skanda, Matsya, Bhagavata, Brahmanda, and Vamana Puranas. Most Puranas claim that after sending Mahabali to Sutala, Trivikrama Vamana took the incarnation of Vishnu and vanished.
Onam In Sangam Literature And Tamil Nadu
The inception of Onam celebrations is said to have originated in the Sangam era. The historical documentation of festive commemorations can be traced back to the Kulasekhara Perumals, which occurred about 800 CE. The duration of Onam celebrations spanned a month. The festival’s historical roots may be traced to ancient times, as evidenced in the Pathupaattu of Mathuraikanchi, a literary composition by Mankudi Marutanar. He recorded the ten-day Onam celebration in Madurai’s Kanchi as ‘Mayon Meya Ona Nan Naan Konam Dinla’. This text explains the celebration of Onam festivals by those affiliated with the Madurai temple in Tamil Nadu during the historical period of the Pandya empire. The Pandyan king Nednchezhiyan of Talaialankanam and its citizens celebrated Onam before 1500 years was evidenced from this literature. Mankudi Maruthanar provides a comprehensive depiction of the festival. In the regal courtyard, the monarch would bestow esteemed gifts upon the poets, dancers, singers, and soldiers hailing from his realm. The elephant altercation held significant significance at that era of the event. The commemoration involves engaging in various leisure activities and festivities inside the confines of the temple grounds.
In his literary composition titled Thevaram, dating back to the 7th Century, the Shaivite saint Thirugnanasambandar documented the occurrence of the Onam festivities held at the Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore during the Tamil month of Aipassi. The Nalayiram Divyaprabandha, a sacred text within the Vaishnava tradition, references the commemoration of Thiruvona Thiruvizha, a festival that marks the birth of Lord Vishnu. One of the notable figures associated with this festival is Nammalvar, a revered saint within the Vaishnava community. The festival of Onam, or a comparable occasion, is commemorated by numerous temples throughout the historic Tamil region as the auspicious birth anniversary of Lord Vishnu. Additionally, the text refers to a total of 108 sacred sites, with Thrikkakkara being among them. The 9th-century literary works “Pallas” and “Pathikas,” authored by Periyazharwar, provide a detailed account of a celebration characterized by offering oblations to Lord Vishnu, communal activities, and festive banquets. The inscription attributed to Jadavarman Sundarapandyan, dated 1276 CE, references a Pandya monarch, Mavalivanadirayan.
References Of Onam In Kerala And Malayalam Literature
A copper plate from Sthanu Ravivarma’s (861 C.E.) reign identified at Thiruvalla refers to the Thiruvattruvayi temple’s Onam rituals. Inscriptions of donations made by one Chendan Changaran provide a reference that Onam was celebrated during the 7th Century CE. Another inscription from Thiruvalla dates to the 12th Century and discusses the income and expenses associated with the Shree Vallabha temple’s Avani Onam celebration. Onam is referred to in a stone inscription of the Manalikkara Azhwar temple in Kanyakumari of Travancore. Moozhikulam Kacham, a medieval code of law, provides evidence of the observance of the festival of Onam during the reign of Indukotha Varma, a ruler of Kerala in the 10th Century.
The inscription at the Thrikkakara temple, dating back to the 11th Century, elucidates the Onam festival, described as a religious observance dedicated to Vamana, an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. In the past, individuals would prepare in advance, typically two days before the occasion known as ‘Thiru Onam,’ to make offerings. The inscription from the 11th Century, authored under the reign of Bhaskara Ravivarman, refers to Puradam, Utradam, and Thiruvonam as days of great significance within the temple’s auspicious calendar. The region around Thrikakkara has been historically designated as Kal Karai Nadu. The event, attended by the rulers of Kerala in the past, is characterized by twenty-eight days and is celebrated with grandeur and magnificence.
The carnival in question is referenced in the 12th-century inscription found in the Thiruvalla temple. Additionally, it is mentioned that this temple was bestowed with a donation in the form of an offering. Uddanda Shastrikal, a Sanskrit poet associated with the Zamorin, articulated the Sravana celebration. Contemporary historians suggest that the festival is called Onam, as Sravana corresponds to the Sanskrit designation for the Thiruvonam constellation.
The Thirunizhalmala inscriptions, a 13th-century literary work, make mention of the Vamana avatar and Mahabali, extolling the god Lord Vishnu of Aaranamula. The 14th-century work, Unnuneelisandesham, refers to Onam, drawing a parallel between the festivities and ceremoniously receiving guests. The narrative delineates the attire the five-year-old character wore during the Onam festival and their engagement in many customary pursuits. Consequently, more than the available evidence within early Malayalam literature is needed to substantiate the prevailing presumption that Onam is a festival commemorating the reign of King Mahabali.
Foreigners’ Observations
Nevertheless, a comprehensive and accurate depiction of Onam can be found in a memoir from 16th-century Europe. The text highlights that this propitious commemoration takes place in September as an act of reverence towards Laxmi, the deity associated with affluence and opulence. Bartolommeo, a missionary who visited the Malabar region in 1776, documented the observance of the Onam festival during the 16th Century in his literary work titled ‘A Voyage to the East Indians.
The book titled “Livro da Seita dos Indios Orientales” authored by Jacobo Fenicio, a Jesuit European missionary who was active in Kerala during the 17th Century provides the initial and potentially singular mention of Onam as a commemoration dedicated to the homecoming of Mahabali. Fenicio further alludes to a poet who exhibited disobedience and a critical attitude against Brahmins and their customary rituals. The poet in question is widely believed to be the author of modern poetry centered around the reign of Mahabali. According to Francis Day’s book on Kochi in the 19th Century, it is argued that Vishnu, rather than the commonly held notion, is the deity that visits the local population during the festival of Onam. Upon William Logan’s realization that Vishnu and Parashurama were present on that particular day, he inferred that the Onam festivities were conducted as a commemoration of Mahabali.
Last Word
Ancient literature, including Rigveda, references the story of Lord Mahavishnu’s incarnation as Vamana. Thiruvonam, which occurs during the month of Shravana, is considered to be Vamana’s or Mahavishnu’s birth star, and the entire country of India celebrates this occasion. The same festival is observed around Kerala, although it is most prominent in Maveli. This story was told so that it may be interpreted as a struggle between those who are oppressed and those who do the oppressing from a Marxist point of view.
These views are the product of the underlying fallacy that Kerala is the only area in the world where Mahabali is worshiped as a deity. Except for books written in the 17th Century by Westerners, no reliable evidence connects the Onam celebrations held in houses with the Mahabali story.
R. Harinarayanan is a Ph.D scholar at Department of History, University of Kerala.
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