THULASIDHARAN. V. THILLAIAKATHU
PREFACE
‘Mahamudi’ is the restitution of ‘Mahabali’. ‘Mahamudi’ is a different
Version of ‘Mahabali’, that is believed by the Saivites in Tamilnadu. According
to the legend, it is believed that God Indiran and his subordinates were
annoyed on seeing the great ruler Mahabali and his good deeds. As he was
exceptionally good and kind, he had a chance to reach heaven. The Gods did not
want an Asura (Dravidian) King to reach the heaven. Therefore, they prayed to
Lord Vishnu and requested him to prevent him. Thus, Lord Vishnu reached the
court of Mahabali in the disguise of an ascetic and begged for three feet land
to stand and pray. King Mahabali wholeheartedly allowed him to take the three
feet land from anywhere he liked. However, Vamanan, after raising his right
leg above his head, said, as one of his feet was on the earth, he owned all the
land of Mahabali. As his second foot was upward just above his head, all the
sky above the land came to him, he proclaimed. Then he asked Mahabali, as per
the promise he had made to him, Mahabali should allow Vamana to put the third
foot on his head and be stamped down into the earth. When he was about to
perform that, Mahabali requested Vamanan to allow him to pray and meditate in
the underground cave, until his death. So, Vamanan decided to send
Mahabali to the underworld (underground cave). However, Vamanan agreed to free
Mahabali for one day, every year, to visit his people. The celebration of
“Onam” festival is nothing but A Welcoming ceremony celebrated by the people
for their great King Mahabali. However, when we go beyond this legend, with
the help of the acquired knowledge of social history of India, we will
definitely come to the conclusion that, it was nothing but the
invasion of Aryans over Dravidans.
The visualized drama is available in youtube- ‘Mahamudi the great Part I, II & III’.
Thulasidharan .V Thillaiakathu
About the Author
MAHAMUDI
A Nandhi (Statue of a Bull) that is placed
in front of a Shiva Temple near Kochi, in Kerala, opens its eyes and begins to
speak….
Do you know how old I am? I am more than
500 years old. I have been sitting here in front of my Mahadeva for the past
500 years. I cannot keep mum any more. Yes! Time has come to speak out- speak
my mind to someone, who has a compassionate ear to hear about the greatest king
that our country has ever seen. It was Mahabali, who built this temple and
placed me here. The ‘Sivalingam’ of this temple was actually brought from
‘Kailasa’. When this land (central part of Kerala, India) was ruled by him, all
the people of this land were of one group, with one faith and one God. There is
no doubt; the great Mahamudi ruled this country in the second half of the 15th century. Since the land was blessed with peace and prosperity, it was
considered to be the heaven on the earth. It was during a night, in the year
1485, something unexpected happened. A terrible dream disturbed the sleep of
Mahamudi. So, in the early morning, Mhamudi looked excessively disturbed and
disappointed. Let us go and see what happened then.
ACT I
[Mahamudi restlessly walks up and down in
his private room. Mahadevi, his wife enters the room Mahamudi stops and looks
at her. Having understood that Mahamudi is troubled with a problem, she goes
near him and talks to him]
Mahadevi : My Lord, you have spent more time in Prayer than
usual. Moreover, your eyes and face echo that your mind is excessively troubled
with some painful thoughts, even after the prayer. Will you please allow me to
share if your Majesty thinks that there is no any harm to reveal them to me?
Mahamudi : Yes, My better half you are right. My mind is
entangled with a terrible dream that I had had just before dawn. I am trying to
recollect all the visions that I had in it and to infer the inevitable meaning
out of them. They are actually, no doubt, the advance message that has been
sent to me, by the omniscient Mahadeva.
Mahadevi : My Lord, will you please describe what you had in
your dream?
Mahamudi : Definitely, my beloved Devi, in my dream I found
myself to be an ascetic, leaving all the things I loved and had to protect and
moving towards the Eastern Mountain to pray and meditate. After reaching the
top of the Mountain, I turned and looked about. Then I was thunderstruck to see
huge walls, barriers, and fences everywhere that trapped my innocent people. My
children who were unaware of inferiority and superiority complex were helplessly
segregated. They began to curse each other and quarrel with one another. When I
turned towards them and warned not to do so, the earth that I was standing upon
began to slip and I fell into an underground cave. When I cried out for help, I
heard the voice saying, “the time has come”
Mahadevi : Oh! Mahadev! What does it mean my Lord? Though I am
unable to bear and unwilling to hear your words concerning the dream, I Can’t
be without knowing it! I only pray to omnipotent Mahadeva to give me enough strength
to hear all that you have to say to me.
Mahamudi : Yes dear! I also pray the omnipresent Mahadev to
give you enough strength not only to hear the words of me, but also to face
boldly whatever happens in the days to come. Either a civil war or an attack
from outside will take place soon. I will be forced to dethrone…..
Mahadevi : Oh! Mahadev! Mahadev… No… No… Please don’t say
…please don’t say such terrible things, my lord... Don’t say …
Mahamudi : Devi, what is this? Control yourself. What is
destined to happen will definitely happen. No one can check or change it.
Mahadev gives power to peep into the future only to those who will submissively
accept it. That is how we have come to know what is going to happen. So, we
have to accept the reality. Everything is time bound. Don’t you know time and
tide will wait for none?
Mahadevi : Yes, My lord, I know time and tide will wait for
none. But I’m a woman... I’m a wife and I’m a mother!
Mahamudi : And at the same time, you are the Queen. Queen of
this Malanadu Devi, don’t forget it. So,
whatever we do, we should be a model in everything, to everyone. So, please
allow me to continue, dear. Some other thing may take place, that something
will make me leave my throne and lead a life of an ascetic. The same thing will
divide the people into different groups. They will fight and quarrel with one
another. The hatred will fill the whole atmosphere. So, it will continue to
stay and get inhaled by generation after generation. The white cat will begin
to claim its superiority over other cats forgetting the reality that all the
twelve cats including the white one, were given birth by an ugly black cat.
Mahadevi : My Lord. Won’t there be our son Mahaveera to rule
the nation? Can’t he demolish all the barriers and set right things?
Mahamudi : He will try. He will try his maximum but he can’t.
He can’t even destroy the barrier that he may find in his own family… I saw him
in my dream with an eight-year-old son. A child with a different religious
faith, a child more attached to his Gurus than to his father. An unfortunate
son! Who will be shaped accordingly even from the very time of his being in his
mother’s womb!, Unfortunately, he will be unaware of his trapping his own
father get killed by a lion, on his blindly following the instructions given by
his ‘Gurus’.
Mahadevi : Oh! Mahadeva, what sin have I committed to hear
such things? That too, from your majesty, My Lord! Why should our Mahadeva
punish all of us in this way at the middle of our life span?
Mahamudi : Devi, it is the will of Mahadev. It is the law of
the nature. The frog that eats an insect, the snake that swallows the frog, the
mongoose that kills the snake, and the man that kills and eats the mongoose…
they are all created and appointed to do their duties. So, no curse will come
to them on doing these. Everything in this world should get transformed to
another in the course of time. In the same way, every belief even if they are
on God, should have a change at the course of time. People will appear from
nowhere, incidents will occur unexpectedly to cause the change. Therefore, time
has come to thrust a change on our beliefs. All we can, and have to do is,
patiently waiting for the battle, fearlessly, bravely, sincerely and
wholeheartedly fighting till the end The result is in the hand of Meade. Either
victory! Or victorious death! So, my beloved Devi, don’t give up your mind.
Let’s go to the temple of Mahadev and pray. Come on let’s move.
Mahadevi : My lord, I can’t believe this. Will his own son be
a cause for the death of our Mahaveera?
Mahamudi : That is what I have guessed out of the dream. Our
Mahaveera will have to marry a girl with other religious faith. She and her son
will live with our son worshipping their God. Our son will continuously go with
our beliefs. Time will make our son to be disliked by them for his continuously
abusing their God. So, I guess, our son will treacherously be killed, when he
smashes a cage of a lion unknowingly, on the demand of his own son. But I
believe that both his wife and son will be unaware of the treachery.
Mahadevi : Why? Why, My lord such things in our life?
Mahamudi : If we come to his world, we should die one day. So,
death is not a thing to get cursed. It is actually a chariot that takes us to
the Divine abode of our Mahadeva. That is why the time of death is kept as a
secret till the time of its arrival. I have told you everything with the hope
that you have the tolerance to face the hard realities of life. Don’t you have
that Devi?
Mahadevi: Yes, My Lord, now I have understood. I will tolerate
everything as you’ve said, my lord.
Mahamudi : Then, let’s go to the temple of Mahadeva and pray.
Come on, Devi.
ACT II
Nandhi appears again and says… A few months
later, one day Mahamudi was talking to his Military General Kannappan, let’s go,
and see what’s going on?
[Mahamudi stands from his throne and moves
forward. Kannappan stands on his left]
Mahamudi : So, you are afraid of a saint. In your words a wolf
in the sheep’s skin! I am totally/very confused Kannappa! Was it you, who
shouldered the holy stone from kailasa, having given it the holy dip in the
Manasarovar, taking it alone from the far away Himalaya, to get founded in our
temple of Mahadeva, years ago, trembling with fear like this, on hearing about
the arrival of an ascetic?
Kannappan : My lord, I beg your Majesty’s pardon, if my words
were found to have any of the vibration of fear. Though the snake is a very
small creeping creature, it has deadly poison in it to kill even an elephant!
So, is this ascetic? Wherever he goes, he makes the king there crownless. So, I
request your majesty either to allow me to kill him or not to allow him enter
our virgin land. We shouldn’t forget that a stitch in time saves nine, my Lord.
Mahamudi : If Mahadev decides that we should meet him, we can’t
avoid that meeting. My mind says that he is inevitable. As death that is
inevitable to all the living creatures. If he is capable of making me
crownless, he should be allowed to take away my crown. By the way, what
techniques he applies to snatch power and keep the power sustained with him?
Kannappan : The technique that he applies is a new one. It is
something like fishing in troubled water. Wherever he goes, he makes the land
his home. He sows poisonous seeds that grow abruptly everywhere. We, in this
land, divide people into groups according to their ability. But, we allow them
to learn everything. So, in this land, a shepherd’s son will become a priest if
he learns the art and rules of the priest. That is how, your majesty, I have
become the chief of your majesty’s army, though my father is a hunter. But,
according to their concept, Shepherds should have only shepherds in their
family. It should never be changed. It is stamped forever. How cruel it is to
stamp label on the coming generations, without considering their taste, attitude,
and aptitude. So, if we fail to check Gurukumana, he will destroy the unity, power,
and prosperity of our society, by injecting the cancerous segregation.
Mahamudi : How did the kings of Northern and Eastern regions
handle him? Could he succeed?
Kannappan : Gurukumana and his men are actually from extreme
north, near around the countries of Raman who is said to have defeated and
killed the mighty Ravan and the valiant Vali centuries ago with the help of the
conspirators. They even worship Raman and the like- the eminent rulers of the
ancient times. They occupied the Chalukians land centuries ago. But, they were
driven away by Cholas and Pandians from the Northeastern and Eastern lands,
when they tried to enter. However, they unexpectedly became victorious immediately
after crossing the Eastern Mountains. All the kings of Northern region have
either surrendered their country of them or converted themselves to Islam.
Gurukumana and his men claim the land in between the Eastern Mountain and the
Arabian Sea by saying that they are the legal heirs of Guru Parasu, who
discovered and released this land from the Arabian Sea thousands of years ago.
My lord, is there any iota of truth in it?
Mahamudi : Absurd. Mere stupidity. They are avaricious. Their greed has no limit.
Actually, their greedy ancestors drove our ancestors from the North to the
South thousands of years ago. Now it is their turn. Actually, they behave like Pythias
of ancient Greek. The Pythias had begun to behave and assume themselves as the
representatives of God then. In the course of time, the people of Greek began
to fear those Pythias and forgot God. Thus, the Pythias killed the religions
that existed there in Greek then. Actually,
these people must be the Pythias of our faith, which is actually next in
seniority among the faiths of this world, waiting to get/be buried. Then,
concerning Guru Parasu, he was a great ascetic; he never hesitated to kill even
the kings who were unfit to be the rulers because of their simply focusing
their attention on earthly pleasures. Moreover, he was cordial with all. He
never had a cord across his chest to hate others. Three hundred years ago, it
was Madvacharya, who had introduced this system of cord across the chest. He
used this cord as a token to serve God. Doubtless, he might not have thought
that some of his business minded disciples would use the cord to ill-treat and
exploit the innocent people and to get the favourable correction even in
the Holy Scriptures. All we have to do here is bemoaning our bitter fate. We
have no other way, except accepting it as if it were a natural calamity like
that of the great flood that had swallowed the harbour Mussiri before a
century.
Kannappan : If your majesty knows this much about this
dangerous people, why doesn’t your majesty do something to avoid this people as
Cholas and Pandians did in their country.
Mahamudi : God hasn’t chosen me to do so. It was Mahadeva who
had graced Raja Raja to build the big golden temple along with the huge towers
four hundred years ago. It was Mahadeva who had blessed all the Cholas and
Pandias to build hundreds of big Mahadeva temples with huge towers everywhere
in their kingdoms. So, they are the chosen people for their chosen lands. The
chosen lands are not meant for any kind of pollution from other religious
faiths. They are supposed to stand like this for another thousand years to
prove the world that the people who had lived there thousands of years ago were
of superior race. Spiritually superior enough to know all the secrets about the
creation of galaxy, Nebula and Supernova from the divine dance of Nataraj! As
the western people are helplessly blind to what our great Thirumoolan said,
whatever they discover or invent in the days to come concerning celestial
bodies, it will be only a partial view or concept of what our great Thirumoolan
had said. But, my dear Kannappa, don’t get disappointed. Our land too has
hundreds of Mahadeva temples though they don’t have huge towers like that of
Cholas and Pandias. Gurukumana’s people will be in need of another thousand
years to convert all these temples to theirs. So, let’s face them boldly
whatever happens. Little minds are overpowered and defeated by misfortune but
great minds rise above it.
Kannapan : As your majesty wishes, My Lord! By the way, I have
brought glad news. Our Mahaveera saved the daughter of an ascetic, from an
elephant yesterday. However, both fell in love with each other at their first
sight. On the way, I tried my maximum to dissuade Mahaveera from the thought of
marrying that girl. But, it was, doubtless a futile attempt. What is to be done
in this matter, my Lord?
Mahamudi : If Mahaveera decides to accept that girl as his
wife, we should not stand against it. You should go and know all about the girl
and her parentage. Actually, I had a dream echoing all the things what we have
discussed so far, including the marriage of our Mahaveera. So, I think the time
has come to face the hard realities of life. You should train your heart and
mind in such a way that every second of our life has been calculated and
arranged by the Almighty Mahadeva. So, we must abide by the divine decisions of
Mahadeva whatever they are.
Kannappan : As your majesty wishes, my lord! Let me be
permitted to leave your majesty. Long live our great king!
Mahamudi : See you, Kannappa! Blessing of Mahadeva be always
with you.
ACT III
Nandhi appears and says… A few more months
passed. Many unexpected incidents happened. As a result, Mahmudi had to leave
his country and he decided to lead the rest of his life as an ascetic in
the forest. His wife too accompanied him. Let’s go and see what was going to
happen then. [Mahamudi, in the dress of an ascetic, Mahadevi too in a similar
dress. Kannappan, Mahaveera and Gangadevi on their left. Gurukumana on their
right. Mahamudi bids farewell to all, in the place.]
Mahamudi : Time has come to leave! To leave my beloved people,
Holyland and my loving and loveable son and his better half. But, I am not
disappointed. I will spend the rest of my life praying for the safety and
well being of my people and country, in the cave, chanting the five letters of
Mahadeva. Gurukumana, I have kept my word. Now it is your turn. You should keep
your word.
Gurukumana : My Lord, don’t worry. On your return next year, on
the same day you will realize the real change that I want to bring to this
country. People will be assigned duty according to their ability. There will be
a systematic worshipping in every temple. Not a single animal or a bird will be
allowed to be sacrificed. The dirty creatures like beggars and lazy people will
be driven out of the temples and its surroundings. Instead, the temples and its
surroundings will be used for the study of Holy Scriptures. Only the children
with blessed souls will be permitted to study the Holy Scriptures. Everything
will be done for the smooth movement and the rotation of the holy earth. This
land will be blessed by the nature, climate, and the five holy matters of the
earth. Your majesty is going to pray for the good and prosperity of the people
and the country and I am with my disciples going to do practical works for the
good and prosperity of the people and country. So, I am sure, with the grace
and blessings of perumal, the protector of this world, this land will become
God’s own country in the days to come.
Mahamudi : We believe in our Mahadeva, who lives in our souls
and who dances both in our heart and in the very movement of all the celestial
bodies. We believe in oneness. But, you and your people divide this one into
two- one human soul and divine soul. Purifying this human soul is the aim of
our life, as far as you are concerned. But, at the same time, you argue that
this process of purifying the soul is easy and possible only to some people who
have come out from the forehead of Perumal. These are all confusing things to
my people. So, please don’t thrust your beliefs upon our people. Allow them to
live freely with their beliefs.
Gurukumana : My Lord, you have mistaken us. Our Guru Madvacharya
was also a faithful follower of your Guru Sankaracharya. We both talk about a
tree. You say that the root and body of the tree are one. We say if the tree
has a weak root, it will not support the tree. So, we talk about the need of
the fertile land. We also prescribe the ways to strengthen the root and thereby
we want to preserve the whole tree.
Mahamudi : When we see unity in diversity, you try to see
diversity in unity. In the course of time, the diversity will be increased in
number. That will destroy the whole tree. Anyhow, I smell danger in what you do
now. You and your disciples may go in the right direction now, but after two or
three centuries, power and luxurious life may poison the mind and heart of your
people. So, they may ill-treat the people and place your Perumal instead of our
Mahadeva. They may either correct the Holy Scriptures or destroy some of them
that they don’t like. They may keep the scriptures for themselves and not allow
others to read and understand them. Don’t forget to impose strict rules on your
disciples concerning ‘the dos and don’ts’
Gurukumana : I assure your majesty that my people will be the
pillars of the society throughout their life. They will never turn out to be
the caterpillars of the society. I will give all the necessary guidelines and
instructions in the course of time. Let the blessings of the Lord Perumal be
upon you and your Devi for this great sacrifice.
Mahamudi : Thank you Gurukumana, my Mahadeva will bless you
all. My dear son Mahaveera, you should
remember all, what I have told you. You should be impartial to both Gurukumana’s
people and our people. Treat your better half in what way I treat your mother.
Every year, on the same day, I will come to confirm my people’s well being.
Mahaveera : I am the most unfortunate son in this world,
helplessly allowing you to have a treacherously premature dethronement and at
the same time, half heartedly allowing myself accepting my premature
enthronement. I have no other way except obeying your commands. But, I’m
doubtful whether I will be able to find apt solutions to the strange problems
that we may face in the days to come. How can I rule people having different
faiths, believing in different Gods?
Mahamudi : No, my son, don’t get disappointed. Be bold and face
the hard realities of the world. Our Mahadeva has given you this duty because
of his considering you as the apt person. Moreover our mighty Kannappan will be
with you always. Kannappa, you should remember all the things that I have told
you. You should assist Mahaveera in what way you have assisted me.
Kannappan : As you majesty wish, My Lord.
Mahamudi : My dear Gangadevi, you should remember all that I
have told you. Now you are not only the life partner of my son Mahaveera, you
are the Queen of this Malanadu too. You should not forget this. Whatever you do
or say in the future, you should consider these two things. We are the
followers of Mahadeva, who has given half of his body to his wife. Therefore,
we call our life partner as “Better half”. You are actually the “Sakthi”, the
real power of our Mahaveera. You should always remember this.
Gangadevi : As your majesty commands, My Lord! Since I have
brought up with the faith of Perumal, I know my position. Our Devi sits at the
feet of Perumal, when he comfortably lies down on the holy snake. Therefore, I
will always be a slave to my swami. I will never forget my duty as a wife and
as a Queen.
Mahamudi : Don’t say the word ‘Slave’! You are the ‘better
half’ of my son
Mahaveera : My Devi accompanies me not as a slave but as the better
half of my body, mind, and soul.
Gangadevi : Yes your majesty. I will always remember, what your
majesty has said.
Mahamudi : Who is there? Is it Ponnappan? Allow him to come
forward. Come on; tell, Ponnappa, what
is your problem?
Ponnappan : Long live! Long live our great king. I pray for the
blessing of the almighty on your majesties. As your majesty graciously allowed us
to convert to Christian faith, we don’t need to hand over our fertile land on
the riverbanks to Gurukumana’s men. So, we are very happy now. But, at the same
time, we are terribly doubtful whether we will be excommunicated from the rest
of the people. We also fear whether our followers will have to live in their
land as foreigners in the days to come.
Mahamudi : No! Never! Ponnappa, nothing to be worried. I have
allowed Gurukumana to spread his faith with the condition that he shouldn’t
interfere in the business of the followers of Islam and Christianity, when they
try to spread their faith. However many of our people have already accepted
these faiths as it happened in the north. Since these two faiths treat all its followers
equally, people of other faiths may come to these faiths in the coming
centuries. At that time, your followers shouldn’t give them the second
position. So, you should make all your men remember this day. Within a decade, people
of your faith from the extreme west will arrive and in the following centuries all,
our people will be in need of learning their language, copying their education system,
and imitating all ways and means of their life.
Ponnappan : Your majesty, one more request. My people should
also be allowed to celebrate the function of your majesty’s arrival every year.
Mahamudi : That is the reason why I have decided to visit this
land every year on this very day. On my visit, I want to see all my people believing
in different religious faiths, unanimously assembling and celebrating the
function remembering that all their ancestors were of only one group, with one
faith and one God, once. So, this is the only land allowing everybody living
freely with their religious faiths. Whatever language, you use to pray your
God, whatever method of worshiping you practice to pray to your God, whatever
shapes or no shapes, you want to give to your God, it doesn’t matter. If you
pray to God, if the prayer is sincere, your prayer will be accepted by God. By
the only one God. No doubt, there is no one to snatch that prayer. Because he
is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. So, there won’t be any quarrel in between
the people with different religious faiths in the days to come in this holy
land on the name of God. Nothing more to say. Mahadevi, come on. Let’s move. My
Mahadeva, who is also the God of other religious faiths, will bless you all.
[Mahamudi leaves the palace with his wife]
Nandhi appears and says… I have made you
see what I saw 500 years ago. Now it is your turn. What will you do? …….. If
you can, go and find a compassionate and considerate person like you and tell
him the story of this Mahamudi, who loved not only the Keralites, the Indians but
also the entire human race of the world. Let your friend be familiarized with this
great King.
END
EXPLANATORY NOTES
ACT- I
Mahadeva : The chief God of Saivites, Lord Siva
Eastern mountains : The Western Ghats, the Mountains that
separate
Kerala and Tamilnadu
in south India
Malanadu : Central part of Kerala, the land ruled by Mahamudi (Mahabali).
The white cat..... :: Its believed that all the race of the people
Superiority..... in Kerala were given birth by a ‘parayi’
12 cats...... (Adi Dravida) lady. She gave birth to 12
Birth by an ugly black cat.. : twelve children who later increased their
population and
were developed into
Twelve Castes. Among them, Brahmins
claim their superiority. Then others began
to occupy their places just below
Brahmins. Thus unfortunately, the actual
caste of the mother is considered as the
lowest in the category (see the notes on
chalukians land, Madvacharya, business
minded… in ACT II, some people…
forehead of Perumal in ACT III for more
details).
Our mahaveera will have to marry
…other religious faith. :
A Vaishnavite girl, who considers lord
Vishnu as her chief God.
ACT- II
Kailasa : Kailasa, Which is in Tibet, china is
considered as the abode of lord Siva.
Manasarovar : Manasarovar is a holy lake that is on the
way to kailasa.
How was he.... : Cholas, whose capital was Tanjore in
Kings of northern and : Pandias, whose capital
was Madurai in
Eastern regions? : The eastern side of Malanadu
Gurukumana Rama, was the king of Ayodhya. Ravan,
Countries of Raman.... the king of Lanka
(Srilanka), was killed
Mighty Ravan and the by Rama, with the
help of Vibeeshana,
Valiant vali. brother
of Ravan. Vali,
who was killed
by
Raman with the help of Vali’s
brother
Sukhrivan.
Chalukians land : Chalukians were dominant power in
Deccan (Karnataka & Andra pradesh),
During 6th to
8th century AD and again
from 11th to
12th century AD. They were
defeated by Cholas from south and by
Turks and Arabs who established their
kingdom
in north. The kingdom of
chalukians broke up in 1189 AD. So the
followers of Mimamsa beliefs who
favoured strict ritualism and who lived
luxuriously in chalukians land had to
move to safe corners. Some
travelled
towards west and some other towards
south. They couldn’t influence the
Cholas and Pandias in the south
because of their having a powerful
cultural, philosophical and
religious
background. So some of them moved
towards west. When they crossed the
western ghats, they found the fertile
malanadu (Kerala). There were a
number of small kingdoms ruled
by a number of kings. All of them
were not technologically powerful
the enough like Cholas and Pandias to check the new race from halukians
land. Since Parasuraman visited the
entire India, they fabricated a story
saying that Malanadu was discovered and
released from Arabian Sea by their great
grandfather’s great grandfather,
Parasuraman. So they
were the legal
heirs of Malanadu. They were not there
to snatch power but to stay with them,
teaching them the rituals that should be
accompanied with the prayer at every
Temples of Malanadu. They convinced that
was actually the command of Parasuraman.
Guru Parasu : Parasuraman was an ascetic with an axe
in
His hand. It is believed that he released
the land (Kerala) from the Arabian sea by
throwing his axe into the sea.
Greedy Ancestors : Aryans (Tribes
from central Asia)
From
north to the Invaded northern
part of India in 7th
South. Thousands century
AD. The race influenced the
Years ago natives (the Dravidians) soon. Some of the natives accepted their culture,
technologies and philosophies. But some
others didn’t want to pollute their
culture and philosophy. As a
result the
majority of the native dravidans had
to move towards south. Thus a new
kind of
social, cultural philosophical and
religious ideologies enriched by Aryans
began to flourish in North India
Pythias : The high priestesses of ancient Greeks
in the Ist century BC, who could give
Appolo’s answers to the common
people for their questions concerning
political and religious matters.
Madvacharya : A viashanavacharya who introduced
the triple cord system to those who
would dedicate their lives for serving
God, in the early 13th century. They were
said to be the children of Vishnu. The
children of Vishnu began to consider
only their children as the children of
Vishnu. Thus a superior race began its
tradition.
Business minded : From 16th century
to 19th century the
disciples… ill-treat upper class
(Brahmins) people in Kerala
and exploit… in the didn’t allow the
lower class women to
holy scriptures hide
their breast. The lower class people
were
not even allowed to enter the temple
to pray. The four Vedas were translated
into Sanskrit in the 14th century BC.
In the same way many ancient
scriptures
too were translated. Favourable things
for the upper class people were cleverly
added
in to it. Eg: to get the fovour of God
one should donate cow, land or gold to
Brahmins, the low class people should keep
themselves 32 feet away from a Brahmin,
if they find a Brahmin on their way.
Harbour Mussri : In a Tsunami like natural calamity, Mussri
(the
harbour in Kerala) was destroyed in 1341 AD.
Raja Raja : Raja
Raja Cholan of Tanjore of the 12th
century
AD.
Thirumoolan : A great sage and
ascetic, who wrote “Thiru
manthiram”. It possesses 3000 poems this
contains many saiva siddhantha views in Tamil.
In it, he talks about the nature of the divine, and
the creation and functioning of the galaxy
and
stars. He discusses on the four steps of
spiritual
progress viz karya, Kriya, Yoga and Gnana.
The
particulars of Asanas (the physical
posture),
Pranayama (breathing exercise), Prathyahara
(withdrawal of senses), Dharana (fixing the
mind
on the point), Dhyana (meditation), and
Samathi
(absorption) are also expounded. He had a
firm
conviction that the practice of yoga would
culminate in the realization of the oneness
of
Atman and Brahman. He calls this method
‘Sivayoga’.
Daughter of an ascetic : Gangadevi is the daughter of Gurukumana.
ACT -III
Five letters of Mahadeva : ‘Na ma si va ya’, are the five letters used
to pray and meditate on Lord Shiva.
I have kept my word… : As per the agreement
executed
keep
your word Mahamudi and Gurukumana, Mahamudi
should
leave his throne to his son and
daughter-in-law (Gurukumana’s daughter).
Mahamudi should Go to forest with his wife and lead a life of an ascetic
Gurukumana and his men should not thrust
their beliefs on the people of Malanadu.
They should be allowed to live freely with
their beliefs or to convert themselves to
Christianity and Islam. Gurukumana
should
assist Mahaveera to rule Malanadu.
Systematic worshiping : The implementation of rituals in
temples. For Eg:
Poojas and Deeparadhanas (rituals) four
times a
day and special poojas on special
occasions.
Five holy matters of earth : Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Sky
Children with : The children of the upper class people
(they are
blessed souls born in the upper class family because of their
being blessed by God, was the argument of
the
upper class people).
Perumal :
Lord Vishnu
We believe in oneness : Advaita- the soul
of the creator and the
soul of the human
being that he created
are one. The five senses are the stumbling
blocks. When one controls the five senses
and meditate, he can experience the
godliness in him.
Your people divide... : Dvaita-
Jeevatma (human soul) should
Human soul and divine soul get trained to get
united with the
paramatma (the divine soul).
Some people from the : Vaishnavites
believe that Lord Vishnu
Forehead of Perumal Created Brahmins
from his forehead,
Shatriyas (Kings and Rulers), from his
shoulders, Vaisyas (Businessmen) from
his stomach, Sutras (Lower class people)
from
his foot. Thus the upper class
people and lower class people were
classified and grouped. The forehead is at
the
top and the foot is at the bottom.
Guru Sankaracharya : Sankaracharya was born in
the year 788 AD in
Kaladi, Kerala. His father Sivaguru was a priest in
a Siva temple. His parents who had been
childless
for many years, prayed at the Vadakkunathan
temple, Thrissur, that Sankara was born
under the
star ‘Thiruvathira’. As a child Sankara
showed
remarkable scholarship. He mastered in four
Vedas by the age of eight. He accepted
Sanyasa
and left his house to propogate the Advaita
philosophy. He advocated monastic life and
didn’t
say anything about strict ritualism
(Mimamsa
schools).
He was accompanied by Sadananda
from chola territory in South India, who
became
his first disciple. He began a ‘Digvijaya’
a ‘tour of
conquest’ for the propagation of Advaita
philosophy by controverting all philosophies
opposed to it. He travelled through out
India from
South India to Kashmir and Nepal.
Correct the holy scriptures : In the second half of the
18th century,
or destroy some of them majority of the holy
scriptures, historical
that they don’t like. records,
religious texts of Kerala written
on palm leaves were collected and burned
by
King Marthanda Varma of Travancore.
He accepted Vishnavism in 1750 and
decided to dedicate his kingdom to Lord
Padmanabha (Vishnu). He made the scholars
of
his court write the new history of Kerala.
Every Year on the same
: Onam festival is celebrated by the people
Day....people’s well of
Kerala to Welcome their great King,
Being Mahabali
from the underworld. Wearing new
cloths, having Onam feast, Singing, Dancing
and playing games of Onam are the important
activities during Onam. ‘All our ancestors
were one when Mahabali ruled’, is the
essence of the Onam songs and the message
to convey to the
coming generations.
People having different : Mahamudi allowed his people
to accept any
Faiths, beliving in religion that
they need, as he knows that
Different Gods there is only one God to receive all the
prayers of all the people. But Mahaveera
worries how he can manage people of
different religious faiths.
Mahadeva who has : By presenting himself
as Ardhanareeshwaran
Given half of his body (half Shiva and half
Parvathy) Lord Shiva,
To his wife Insists that all husbands should give half
of their mind and body to their wives.
Sakthi : Devi
Parvathy is said to be the power of Lord
Shiva (it is believed that Shiva is
spaceand
Sakthi is the force, action or movement
in the space).
Faith of Perumal : Beliefs of Vishnavism
Our Devi sits at the : Lord Vishnu lies down
on Adiseshan, a holy
feet of Perumal snake in Vaikunda.
His wife Lakshmi sits at
LordVishnu’s
feet and pray. Vaishnavites
believe that wives are slaves to their
husbands. They are inferior, not equal to
their husbands.
Christian faith : Christianity
We don’t need … : During 16th century
many farmers of Kerala,
Fertile land… especially
on the river banks, converted
Gurukumana’s men themselves into
Christianity as they didn’t
want to handover their fertile lands to
Brahmins. When they became Christians
and Muslims they didn’t need to bother
about the curse of Brahmins or the
favour of Hindu Gods for their donating
lands to
Brahmins. It was how majority of the people
of
central Kerala became Christians.
At that time… : The backward
communities who converted
shouldn’t Give … themselves later in the
second half of 19th century
second position and first half of 20th century were not accepted as
equals by the Orthodox and Roman Catholics,
who had converted earlier. The caste system
among Hindus might have influenced them. So
they began to consider the latter as
inferior to
them. So they are known as Latin Catholics
in
Kerala.
: Arrival of Vas-co-da-gama, English
company
men and other Europeans.
THULASIDHARAN. V. THILLAIAKATHU
i need to read this later ... perhaps a printed out version
ReplyDeletethe preface is nice
keep up the good work
Thank you very much,Mathu ,for your reading and for the encouraging comment.
ReplyDelete