In the previous part, we read about the Pallippana ritual and
the legend behind it. Today, we will read a slightly different version of the
same, where the ritual is not conducted by the Malayi.
A
slightly different version from the above is observed in the Nizhalkkuttu
attakatha which was composed by Shri
Pannisseri Nanupillai in 1925, and according to the author, there weren’t too
many Hindu homes (then) which did not perform the Nizhalkkuttu attakatha at least once a month to annul
the effects of abhicara which could have been performed by some unknown
person.
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| Duryodhan (Kathakali) |
The story behind this is
similar to the above with a slight difference. Duryodhan calls Bharata Malayan
to perform abhicara. When Malayan learns
that the victims of his act were going to be the Pandavs, he declines to do it,
as for him both the Pandavs and the Kauravs were Kings, besides the fact that
Krishna was with them, due to which he would not be able to do so. Duryodhan
threatened him with dire consequences if he did not comply with his order.
Malayan agreed but asked
for certain things for the ritual – the sun as a lamp, the moon as a plate,
measures of darkness, egg of an elephant, arrows used by Lord Rama, some leaves
made of water, etc. Besides all such impossible things, he also asked for the
sacrifice of their sister, Dusshala. On hearing all this Duryodhan was enraged
and threatened to kill him instantly, if he did not begin the abhicara. A reluctant and a scared Malayan decided to
perform the ritual.
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| Malayan (Kathakali) |
When the ritual began,
Malayan realised that he was unable to see the shadows of the Pandavs on the
stone. He was worried, if the ritual was not successful, Duryodhan would kill
him. He prayed to the gods to bail him out of the plight. Soon he noticed that
he could see the shadows of the Pandavs along with that of Lord Krishna. He
prayed to Krishna to show mercy on him as he was doing this only under utter
duress. Soon the shadow of Krishna went missing and his task was accomplished.
He begged forgiveness and left with all the gifts heaped on him by Duryodhan.
When he reached home,
his wife found it unusual that he should return with so many gifts, and still
be sad. On asking him the cause of his unhappiness, Malayan said that on his
way back he practiced abhicara on five does, who were with a deer. Malayi was not
convinced and on insisting to know the truth, Malayan told her that he had
killed the Pandavs by Nizhalkkuttu, shadow-piercing. When Malayi learnt this,
she was enraged. She killed her son, so that Malayan could feel the pain of
Kunti and rushed to the spot where the Pandavs were lying dead.
In the meanwhile Kunti
finds her dead sons and calls for Krishna. Krishna revives them and soon Malayi
arrives there and tells all that had happened due to her husband. Krishna
assured her that he knew everything and killing her own son was too drastic a
reaction and that his son would be alive too and that there would be no hatred
towards Malayan as he had done it out of sheer compulsion.
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| Krishna, Malayi & Kunti (Kathakali) |
Krishna then goes on to
say, that anybody who listens to this tale would never be affected by abhicara ever.
The above version is
different in the fact that here Krishna is credited with the revival of the
Pandavs and not Malayi as in the previous version. Also, Malayan is shown
making efforts to avoid the abhicara and thus he is not spited for greed, again, as
against the previous version. Also, in the earlier version, the son remains
dead, unlike this version, where the son is given another lease of life. The
bottom line is that in the previous version the Malayi is at the centre stage
whereas in the present, it is Lord Krishna.
Needless to say, that
both the versions are depicted in different dance forms in Kerala, like Theyyam
and Kathakali, and people who have witnessed the performances say that the
depictions of the abhicara episode in Kathakali is extremely colourful and
rich in details.
NB – The pictures shown in this and the previous article are not from a
ritualistic performance, but stage performances of Kathakali, depicting the
episode.
Before we conclude, we will read an altogether different version
of abhicara. Keep reading……
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