Pakkanar is a character in Malayalam Folklore. [1] Pakkanar was born as the son of Vararuchi, the famous astrologer who adorned the court of King Vikramaditya. Pakkanar was second among the twelve offspring or the Parayi petta panthirukulam (12 children born from the Pariah woman). [2] Just a shout away from Mezhathol Agnihothri's home Vemancheri Mana in Thrithala, is the Paakkanar colony otherwise known as Eerattinkal Paraya colony adjoining Arikkunnu mentioned earlier. In the traditional caste hierarchy in Kerala, the Paraya caste was considered a lower caste. Families of Paakkanaar lineage live in this colony in 18 houses. The story goes that it was Paakkanar who actually made a "Thampraakkal" out of "Azhvanchery Thamprakkal", who is considered as the head of the Namboothiris of the region. [3]
Aithihyamaala by Kottarathil Sankunny says many stories of Pakkanar. According to one story Pakkanar made only 4 "Muram" (A traditional south Indian board used to separate the chaff from the rice). Pakkanar would sell 4 of them. He says "One for giving credits (for his kids to whom he provides everything for sustaining them), One for paying off debts (To help his grandparents who made him what he is), One for himself and his wife, and the last one he just throws away (That is for charity without expecting returns)." The stories of Aithihyamala depicts such valuable messages of life through simple stories of miracles of the Parayi petta panthirukulam (12 children born from the Pariah woman). A festival of "Muram" is conducted still today in Bhuvaneswari temple. In other story Agnihotri, Pakkanar's elder brother, and his wife visits Pakkanar's home. Agnihotri's wife is depicted as an orthodox upper caste woman. As the visitors arrived Pakkanar called his wife, who was taking water from well. The woman left the rope and ran to attend her husband, but the bucket stayed in the air where it was. Such is said to be the power of purity and respect that she showed to Pakkanar.
Perumthachan (പെരുന്തച്ചന്), also spelled as "Perunthchan", meaning the master carpenter or the master craftsman, is an honorific title that is used to refer to an ancient legendary carpenter, architect, woodcarver and sculptor (stone/wood) from Kerala, India. However Perumthachan is an important figure in the folklore of Kerala and many a wondrous structure and architecture that still stand are attributed to him.
Naranath Branthan is a character in Malayalam folklore. He was considered a divine person, a Mukhta who pretended to be mad. His chief activity consisted of rolling a big stone up a hill and then letting it fall back down. There is a large statue of Naranath in Pattambi, Palakkad district of Kerala where he is believed to have lived.
Thrithala is a town and a village in Pattambi taluk in Palakkad District of Kerala state, South India. The town is located along the banks of Bharathapuzha and is famed for its Shiva temple.
Paraiyar, Parayar or Maraiyar is a caste group found in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and in Sri Lanka.
Kottarathil Sankunni was an Indian writer of Malayalam literature. Best known as the author of Aithihyamala, an eight-volume compilation of century-old legends about Kerala, Sankunni's writings cover prose and poetry, including verses for Kathakali and Ottan Thullal. He was one of the founding members of Bhashaposhini Sabha founded by Kandathil Varghese Mappillai and was also involved with Bharata Vilasam Sabha, another literary initiative. He died on July 22, 1937.
Parayi Petta Panthirukulam, is a popular folktale in Kerala. According to this folktale, Vararuchi, one of the nine wise men of Emperor Vikramaditya’s court married Panchami, a girl belonging to Paraya, a lower caste. The couple set out on a long pilgrimage. On the way, they had 12 children. Upon each delivery, Vararuchi enquired whether the baby had a mouth. If the wife said "yes", he would say, "God will appease the one with mouth" and would ask the wife to abandon the baby then and there and proceed. Eleven children were deserted, since they had a mouth. The tale goes that after the 12th birth, when Vararuchi asked whether the child had a mouth, the wife said he didn't have a mouth in the hope that she may get to raise at least that child. But when she looked at the child after saying that, the child indeed was seen to have been born without a mouth. Vararuchi consecrated the 12th child as a deity on top of a hill, and they proceeded on the pilgrimage.
Koottanad is a town in Nagalassery Panchayath of Pattambi taluk of Palakkad district, in the state of Kerala. It is situated at the border of Thrissur, Palakkad and Malapuram districts. It is located 32 km from the Thrissur and 65 km from Palakkad, on the road between Guruvayoor and Palakkad. It is connected by road to other parts of Kerala and the nearest Railway station is Pattambi 9 km away. Bharathapuzha Nila Riverflows through Thrithala, 5 km away. The Pakkanar Memorial, a tribute to the Pariah saint of Parayi petta panthirukulam can be found at Thrithala. The Kattil Madam Temple, a small granite Buddhist monument on the Pattambi-Guruvayoor road, is of great archaeological importance. It is believed to date back to the 9th/10th century AD. The debris of a Fort can be seen behind Juma Mazjid, Koottanad between Koottanad and Chalissery Road.
Indulekha is a Malayalam novel written by O. Chandu Menon. Published in 1889, it was the first major novel in the Malayalam language. It was a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature and initiated the novel as a new flourishing genre. The novel is about a beautiful, well-educated lady of a Nair tharavad.
Vellithuruthi Thazhathu Karutha Patteri Raman Bhattathiripad (1896–1982), also known as V. T. Bhattathiripad, was an Indian social reformer, dramatist and an Indian independence activist. He was best known for his contributions in the reformation of the casteism and conservatism that existed in the Namboothiri community. He wrote a number of books which include a play, Adukkalayail Ninnu Arangathekku and his autobiography, Kanneerum Kinavum and many critics consider them as notable works in Malayalam literature. Kerala Sahitya Akademi honoured him with distinguished fellowship in 1976.
Mezhathol Agnihothri is a figure in the folklore of Kerala who is credited for supposedly reviving the ancient Shrauta traditions in Kerala, India, in around the mid-first millennium CE. At that time, Buddhism and Jainism had eroded Hinduism in India. Mezhathol rejuvenated the ancient customs by performing 99 yagas. The Shrauta traditions still remain intact in Kerala today, maintained by the rigidly orthodox Nambudiri Brahmins.
Hinduism is the largest religion in Kerala and Hindu lineages together make up 54.7% of the population of the state according to the 2011 census.
Perumthachan is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language period drama film directed by Ajayan and written by M. T. Vasudevan Nair. It is based on the legend of Perumthachan in the Parayi Petta Panthirukulam folklore. The problems caused by the generation gap are explored through the relationship between a skilled carpenter and his tradition-breaking son.
Vararuci is a name associated with several literary and scientific texts in Sanskrit and also with various legends in several parts of India. This Vararuci is often identified with Kātyāyana. Kātyāyana is the author of Vārtikās which is an elaboration of certain sūtrās in Pāṇini's much revered treatise on Sanskrit grammar titled Aṣṭādhyāyī. Kātyāyana is believed to have flourished in the 3rd century BCE. However, this identification of Vararuci with Kātyāyana has not been fully accepted by scholars. Vararuci is believed to be the author of Prākrita Prakāśa, the oldest treatise on the grammar of Prākrit language. Vararuci's name appears in a verse listing the 'nine gems' (navaratnas) in the court of one Vikramaditya. Vararuci appears as a prominent character in Kathasaritsagara, a famous 11th century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales and folk tales as retold by Somadeva.
Vaduthala Nair, was a renowned social reformer and martial artist in Kerala, India.
Aithihyamala or Ithihyamala is a collection of century-old stories from Kerala that cover a vast spectrum of life, famous persons and events. It is a collection of legends numbering over a hundred, about magicians and yakshis, feudal rulers and conceited poets, kalari or Kalaripayattu experts, practitioners of Ayurveda and courtiers; elephants and their mahouts, tantric experts.
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? Ek Baar Phir is an Indian romantic drama television series created and produced by Sunjoy Waddhwa under Sphere Origins. The series aired on StarPlus from 26 August 2013 to 13 June 2015, completing a total of 542 episodes. The show stars Avinash Sachdev and Shrenu Parikh as Shlok and Aastha, respectively. It is the second installment in the Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon? series.
Imayam is an Indian Tamil-language novelist from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He has eight novels, eight short story collections and a novella to his credit. Widely acknowledged for his realist mode of writing, his stories are known for their incisive exploration of societal intricacies. Closely associated with the Dravidian Movement and its politics, he is considered as one of the leading writers from South India. He is the recipient of the honorary Sahitya Akademi Award for his novel Selladha Panam in 2020. He is also the first Tamil writer to receive the Kuvempu Rashtriya Puraskar National Award (2022) for bringing new sensibilites to Tamil literature through his writings. Noting the writer's proclivity to Dravidian ideals, the Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K.Stalin called him "an ideologue donned in black and red". He lauded Imayam calling him a "proactive writer" in the Dravidian movement.
Trithala Maha Siva Temple is an ancient Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva is situated on the banks of the Bharathappuzha river at Thrithala of Palakkad District in Kerala state in India. References to this temple are found in Aithihyamala of Kottarathil Sankunni and many classics of Malayalam Literature. The place where the idol is worshiped in the temple resembles the addition of sand. Legend has it that the Shiva Linga was made by Agnihotri by using the sand from Bharathapuzha river. Anointing is not performed because it is a Shivling of sand. The Shivalinga sits slightly oblique, as the mother of Agnihotri held on to the force, there was a slight tilt. The temple is a part of the 108 famous Shiva temples in Kerala. According to historians, the Trithala Siva Temple, built in the 9th or 10th century, marks the transition from Chola to Pandya style architecture.
K. B. Sreedevi was an Indian writer, who wrote in Malayalam, under the genre of children's literature. She received several awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Overall Contributions and the Kerala State Film Award for Story.
Malavazhiyattam also known as MalavayiyattamKariniliyattam or Cheruniliyattam is a ritualistic folk art of the Paraya community in Kerala, India. It is music and drama performed to please Malavazhi, a mother goddess worshiped by the Parayas and installed in their homes.