Parayi Petta Panthirukulam
Parayi Petta Panthirukulam, Kerala's favourite folktale. Vararuchi, one of the nine wise men of Emperor Vikramaditya's (57 BCE- 78 AD) court married a girl from to Paraya, a lower caste. The couple's long trek. On the way, 12 children were blessed. Upon delivery, Vararuchi asked if the baby had a mouth. If the wife responded "yes," he would remark, "God would appease one with mouth" and ask the wife to leave the baby then and there and proceed. Eleven youngsters were deserted, having a mouth. The myth goes that after the 12th birth, when Vararuchi questioned if the infant had a mouth, the wife lied he didn't have a mouth in hopes of raising at least that child. But after stating that, when she looked at kid, the newborn was truly seen born without a mouth. Vararuchi consecrated the 12th kid as a divinity on a hill and went on pilgrimage.
11 separate families, from diverse parts of society, adopted and raised the 11 abandoned children. Following are the names of families believed to have adopted children:
- Mezhathol Agnihothri (Namboothiri)
- Pakkanar (Parayan)
- Rajakan (Washerman)
- Naranath Bhranthan [(A divine person who pretend to be mad)Cheruman Caste]
- Karakkalamma (Royal Kshathriya woman, only girl born to the couple)
- Akavoor Chathan (Farmer, later became a caretaker)
- Vaduthala Nair (Nair Soldier)
- Thiruvalluvan/Valluvan/Vallon (Pulaya)
- Uppukottan (Muslim trader)
- Paananaar (folk musician)
- Perumthachan (Engineer, Architect)
- Vayillakkunnilappan, (Hill Lord without mouth) the 12th child was born without a mouth. Vararuchi consecrated this child on a hill in Palakkad district of Kerala, which is now known as "Vaayillaakkunnilappan temple" .
People with family names and caste affiliations accounted in the folktale, thought to be Vararuchi's ancestors, live in Kerala state's Shoranur, Pattambi and Thrithala district of Palakkad. Despite the significant disparity in caste and social rankings, rituals and religious customs usually bind these families together.
Malayalam poem
The following poems in Malayalam of anonymous origin and undetermined antiquity detail the names of Vararuchi's twelve offspring and his wife Panchami, the ancestors of the twelve legendary Panthirukulam clans.
0 comments: