RSS triggers row by questioning legend behind Onam

September 11, 2016

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 11: As Keralites gear up to celebrate Onam, RSS has triggered a controversy by questioning the legend behind the festival, arguing that it marks the celebration of birth of 'Vamana' (incarnation of Lord Vishnu) and not the homecoming of demon king Mahabali.onam-celebrations

An article published in the Onam special edition of RSS mouthpiece 'Kesari' claimed there was no reference in any mythological scriptures which supports the popular and widely circulated legend that Vamana' had sent Mahabali to the netherworld through deceit and the king visits the land annually to meet his subjects.

Countering the argument, senior CPI(M) leader and state Health Minister K K Shylaja said Onam was celebrated by all irrespective of caste, creed and religion and the attempt of the RSS was to bring back the bygone "upper class hegemony".

It was also a part of RSS's agenda to "hijack the festival", the minister alleged. According to the popular belief in the state, Mahabali's homecoming in the Malayalam month of Chingam to see his subjects is celebrated as 'Thiru Onam' annually, which falls on September 14 this year.

However, the article written by K Unnikrishnan Namboothiri in the RSS magazine argued that Onam was originally celebrated as the birthday of Vamana and not a festivity to mark the homecoming of the demon king.

"There is no such reference or explanation anywhere in mythology or epics to support the story that Mahabali was pushed to the netherworld by Vamana and he visits the land every year to meet his subjects. Then, how did such a false story become prevalent in Kerala?" the article stated.

The write-up claimed that Lord Vishnu had actually "blessed" the demon king and not "punished" him by pushing into 'pathala' (netherworld).

"There is no indication in spiritual texts like 'Bhagavatham' or 'Narayaneeyam' or such other authentic books that Bali was pushed to the netherworld. Instead, such texts say that the noble king had emerged victorious in the trial by Vamana and he was blessed by the God," it said.

The writer also criticised the general picturisation of Mahabali as a man with moustache, potbelly and wearing an 'olakkuda' (traditional palm leaf umbrella).

"It is an attempt by some vested interest to distort the mythical stories and paint in poor light the characters of Hindu Puranas," the writer said, adding that such attempts to destroy Hinduism should be checked.

According to mythology, Onam is connected with Asura' (demon) king Mahabali, under whose reign everyone lived in happiness and equality.

Envious by his popularity, Devas' (Gods) sought the help of Lord Vishnu to get him banished into the netherworld.

But before going down, Mahabali secured a boon from Lord Vishnu to visit his subjects every year on the 'Thiru Onam' day.

The demon king's annual visit is celebrated by Keralites, who lay by their front yards with floral carpets, wear new clothes and prepare a sumptuous feast.

Comments

ali
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

If hindu can follow valmiki (thief)script as holy book, they can trust anything. There is no surprise in onam.

Most of hindu gods looks like demon, what is wrong in worshiping demon king.

Satyameva jayate
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Another few RSS workers may die soon....ha haa....that is kerala

True indian
 - 
Sunday, 11 Sep 2016

Correction. It's vishnus avatar. Too many gods. Thats why got confused.

True indian
 - 
Sunday, 11 Sep 2016

These rss donno that Fish is shivas avatar. Fish is more holier than cow.
But these people have problem with beef slaughtering which is zero pain in proper halal method.

And fish which die painfully when it comes out of the water.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 10,2020

In a shocking incident, a pharmacist-cum-production manager of an Ayurvedic product company in Chennai’s T.Nagar died after drinking a chemical preparation he reportedly formulated for tackling the Coronavirus.

The managing director of the company, who is an ophthamologist by qualification, was hospitalised after he fainted soon after he ingested the chemical component.

The deceased, K.Sivanesan, 47, of Perungudi, was with Chennai-based Sujatha Biotech, an Ayurvedic and herbal products company which was founded 30 years ago. It has a plant in Kashipur, Uttarakhand, where Sivanesan was working. Sivanesan had devised formulas of various products and used to visit his managing director Dr. Rajkumar frequently in the city.

Due to the lockdown, Sivanesan came to Chennai and stayed with his family in Perungudi. On Thursday morning, he procured the chemical component from a market in Parry’s Corner.

First he gave a small amount powder he derived from the chemical to 67 years-old Rajkumar who fainted after tasting it.

Even as he was being resuscitated, Sivanesan went into the kitchen of the house and gulped it in liquid form after adding water to it. He could not be revived.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, T.Nagar, Ashok Kumar, said, “Our investigation revealed that Sivanesan died after drinking the preparation he claimed would help COVID-19 patients. His managing director fainted after tasting it initially. Further investigation is on.”

Sivanesan was rushed to a private hospital in T.Nagar and declared dead by the doctors there. Later his body was shifted to Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem. Teynampet police registered a case under section 174 of Criminal Procedure Code for unnatural death.

N.S.Vasan, designer-cum-media manager of the company said, “Due to the lockdown, Sivanesan stayed in the city and one day told us he heard of some medicine from U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent speech for curing Coronavirus. He said it would bring more immunity and help to prevent COVID-19. Deciding to test the effect of the medicine, he went to Parry’s Corner and bought the powder.” He added that Sivanesan must have taken a heavy dosage of the ‘drug’ and he was killed instantly.

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News Network
February 9,2020

Uppinangady, Feb 9: Two members of a family were killed after the car collided with a tanker on the NH 75 at Bedrody near Uppinangady last night.

Police said on Sunday that the deceased have been identified as Jainy Saji (30) and her elder brother Jeeson (40).

Jainy and Jeeson were going to Uppinangady when a tanker, coming from the opposite direction, rammed into their car.
 

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 12,2020

Mangaluru, Jun 12: A huge crowd gathered for the grand opening of the newly built 175-metre-long two-lane bridge across Phalguni River on National Highway 169 near Gurupura on the outskirts of the city today.

Even as the photos of the bridge inauguration ceremony went viral on social media, netizens took the elected representatives and the district administration to task for flouting safety norms at a time when the coronavirus cases are continuing to mount in coastal Karnataka.

The bridge was completed in a record time of 15 months. Dakshina Kannada MP and State BJP President Nalin Kumar Kateel and district in-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojari inaugurated the bridge in the presence of Mangaluru City North MLA Y. Bharath Shetty and others.

The bridge has come as a breather to thousands of travellers between Mangaluru-Moodbidri-Karkala on the busy NH. The age-old steel bridge had become dilapidated and was a cause for concern for road users. The highway is also under the process of getting widened to four lanes.

The bridge was constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore by contractor Sudhakar Shetty of Mugrodi Construction. Work started in February last and the contractor had time till February next.

While the two-lane carriageway is 16 metres wide, the bridge has 2.5-metre-wide pedestrian paths on both the sides. New approach roads of 500 metres each were also part of the project.

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