ONAM IS LINKED WITH LORD VISHNU AND HIS VAMAN AWATAR

ONAM IS LINKED WITH LORD VISHNU AND HIS VAMAN AWATAR

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RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA-------------------------Onam is celebrated in Kerala in the memory of his beloved king Mahabali. The story of Onam is connected to Lord Vishnu and his Vamana avatar. According to folk beliefs and Vamana Purana, there used to be a very powerful king in Kerala whose name was Bali. Bali was the half brother of the king of heaven Indra. Maharishi Kashyap had 17 marriages including 13 daughters of Daksharaj. The sons born from his wife Aditi were called gods and the sons born from Diti were called demons. King Bali was the son of Diti. In this way, Devraj Indra and Daityaraj Bali were half brothers. Bali defeated Indra and took over the entire earth including heaven. The gods became stateless and started wandering around helplessly. To remove this suffering of the gods, Lord Vishnu took the Vamana avatar for the first time in the form of a human.

The birth anniversary of Lord Vaman is celebrated in North India on the Dwadashi of Bhadrapada Shukla Paksha. Onam is celebrated in South India on the Trayodashi, the next day of Vaman Dwadashi. In this way, both these great festivals are closely connected. Onam is also a great festival connecting North and South India.

Lord Vishnu was born as Vaman Avatar from the womb of Aditi, wife of Maharishi Kashyap and mother of the Gods. The story of his incarnation is very amazing. Demon King Bali, with the help of his Guru Shukracharya, had ousted his step brother Indra from the kingdom of heaven. The Gods were wandering around helplessly and were sometimes pleading for help from Brahma Ji and sometimes from Shiva Ji. But they did not get any help. The disappointed Gods reached Vishnu Ji for help. Lord Vishnu was doing penance in Siddhashram in the form of a sage at that time. The Gods did not have the courage to stop meditating. They went to their father Maharshi Kashyap for help. Maharshi Kashyap reached Siddhashram with his wife Aditi. He prayed to Lord Vishnu who was engaged in meditation with hymns. Lord Vishnu, who was engrossed in meditation, opened his eyes and happily asked Maharshi Kashyap to ask for a boon. Maharshi asked him for the boon of appearing as a son from the womb of his wife Aditi and helping the Gods. Saying 'Tathastu', Lord Vishnu appeared from the womb of mother Aditi in the form of Vaman. Due to his incarnation in Siddhashram, this area is also called Vamanashram. Later, Maharshi Vishwamitra, the Chancellor of this Siddhashram, performed a yagya and got Taraka, Marich and Subahu killed with the help of Lord Ram.

King Bali was performing a yagya. Lord Vaman reached the yagya place. All the people present at the yajnasthal were overwhelmed to see the enchanting form of Lord Vaman. King Bali asked Lord Vaman to ask for a donation. Lord Vaman, while committing himself, requested King Bali to donate three and a half steps of land. As soon as Bali said yes, his form became gigantic. He measured the entire universe including the three worlds in three steps. With half a step remaining, Bali surrendered to him. He returned the kingdom of heaven to his elder brother Indra and made Bali the lord of the netherworld. Also, being bound by Bali's boon, he became his gatekeeper. You can read this amazing story in detail in "Vaman Purana". The story of Shri Vaman Avatar is also described in a very interesting way in "Ramayana" written by Maharishi Valmiki.

In this incarnation, Lord Vishnu did amazing justice without any war and bloodshed and divided the kingdom between the two brothers in a respectable manner and did not keep anything for himself. This is Vaman Nyaya. Through this incarnation, Lord Vishnu has beautifully revealed the character of a Brahmin who walks on the path of truth and justice. In the present time and environment, all the Brahmins of the world should imitate the character of Lord Vaman.

Since King Bali's subjects loved him very much, Lord Vishnu blessed Bali that he would definitely be able to meet his subjects once a year. Therefore, the day on which Mahabali comes to Kerala is celebrated as Onam. People of all religions in Kerala celebrate this festival. Many people also associate this festival with agriculture.

The first and last day of this festival, which lasts for ten days, are very important. A special boat race is also organized during this festival. During Onam, women make rangoli of flowers in the house. Another special attraction of Onam festival is the special dishes made on this day.

Onam is one of the important festivals of South India. In this festival, the traditions of South India are fully visible. Onam Sadhya is an integral part of Onam, it is a kind of feast in which various dishes are served on banana leaves. There are many types of dishes in Onam Sadhya, the important ones of which are banana chips, sambar, salan, rasam, pachadi etc. On this day, people of South India clean their houses and decorate them with lamps to celebrate the arrival of their king Bali, wear new clothes and prepare various types of traditional dishes. During this festival, which is celebrated for ten days, various types of games are organized, of which boat race is the most popular. Shankha Darshan on the day of Onam is considered very auspicious.