Kalliyankattu Neeli is a malevolent spirit (Yakshi) who appears in Kerala folk songs, Villadichan songs and folk tales of Travancore. [1] [2] Neeli also appears in Marthandavarma , CV Raman Pilla i's historical novel. Even though she is a Yakshi (Ghost), Neeli is worshiped as a mother goddess in a temple in Panchavankaadu. [1] [3]
Neeli used to roam around and terrorize Panchavankaadu in Thiruvananthapuram district. She was said to be a bloodthirsty ghost (yakshi) with divine beauty, who later assumed the form of a goddess. [1]
Before being a malevolent spirit, Neeli had been born as Alli, the daughter of Karveni Amma, a Devadasi, who lived in the land of Pakhakannur in the early ninth century with a fierce appearance. Her hair reached her knees, complementing her wide eyes and mesmerizing beauty. [1] She fell in love with and married the priest of the local Shiva temple, Nambi. Nambi married her for her money and regularly cheated on Alli with other women. Disgusted with her son-in-law's promiscuity, Karveni Amma kicked Nambi out of the house. A pregnant Alli followed him. [1] On the way, Nambi killed Alli by hitting her head on a rock to steal her jewels. Her younger brother Ambi, who rushed to bring back Alli, committed suicide upon seeing his sister's body by hitting his head on a rock. Nambi was also later killed by snakebite. [4] [5]
Both Ambi and Alli were reincarnated as the Chola king's children - Neelan and Neeli, and evil spread across the country. [1] They started to eat and drink the blood of the cattle at night and several cattle were lost. After The Chola king realized that his children were the cause of the evil, he thought of killing them, but unable to do so, he abandoned them at Panchavankaadu near Nagercoil, the southern border of the Chola kingdom. Pazhayannur village later became the children's retreat. Seventy local Uranmas gathered Nambi, a sorcerer at Nagercoil, and he was able to kill Neelan, but he could not stop Neeli. [1] Nambi was killed that night by Neeli in Nagercoil for revenge for Neelan. Meanwhile, Kaveripoompattinam native Anandan, the reincarnation of Alli's husband Nambi, was about to go to Muziris via Panchavankaadu for business. [1] Neeli could not touch Anandan who had a magic wand and therefore she followed him. On seeing Neeli following him, he ran and reached Pazhayannur village. [1] Neeli took the form of a woman with a child and made the villagers believe that Anandan was her husband and that he was running away after quarreling with her. He cried and said that she was Neeli, but no one believed him, and the Uranmas swore that if anything happened to him, all of the Uranmas would die with him. [1] [4] They locked them up together in a house to settle their disputes, threw away his magic wand, and Neeli easily killed Anandan that night. The next morning, seeing Anandan dead, the seventy Uranmas killed themselves to fulfill their promise. [1] Having killed Anandan and the seventy Uranmas who had caused the death of her and her brother, Neeli decided to reside under a Kalipala tree and gradually became a mother goddess.
Kadammattom Kathanar, known for his extraordinary tantric powers, decided to confront Kalliyankattu Neeli, a terrifying yakshi who roamed the forests near Kolenchery, tricking travelers with her beauty and killing them at night. One evening, as he walked through the haunted path, Neeli appeared before him disguised as a helpless woman asking for help, but Kathanar immediately recognized her true identity. When he exposed her, Neeli transformed into her frightening supernatural form and attacked him with illusions, storms, and screams meant to break his mind. Kathanar calmly responded by drawing sacred symbols on the ground, chanting powerful prayers, and using the tantric wisdom he learned from Mar Abo to counter her attacks. After a fierce spiritual battle, he trapped Neeli inside a magical circle she could not escape, weakened her powers, and commanded her to stop harming people. Defeated and subdued, Neeli surrendered, and from that night onward, the forest became peaceful, and the villagers were finally free from her terror.
Some versions say:
He bound Neeli’s spirit to a stone at Kalliyankadu. Others say he gave her moksha and freed her. After that, the forest became safe again.