The most important festival in the Hindu Malayali calendar is here for the 2024 edition – Happy Onam to everyone!
Onam is an annual harvest and Hindu cultural festival. While it was once celebrated across the country, today it is a festival mostly celebrated by the state of Kerala. It is the official festival of the state and includes a wide range of activities including the world famous boat race and the Onam Sadhya.
One significance is to celebrate the birth of Lord Vamana or Vamana Jayanti. Vamana was the fifth avatar of Vishnu and the son of Rishi Kashyap and Aditi. According to the Vamana Purana, after Indra is defeated by the Asura King Mahabali (grandson of Prahlad), the devas seek refuge under Vishnu, who agrees to restore Indra to the throne. He incarnates as a dwarf Brahmin called Vamana to attend the yagnya conducted the Asura king who was a devotee of Vishnu. Vamana requests only three steps of land as covered by his feet. Despite being aware of his divine nature, Mahabali agrees. Vamana grows in size and with the first two steps encompasses all the universes and beyond. With his third he banishes Mahabali down to the netherworld.
The second significance is to celebrate Mahabali’s devotion to Vishnu. Upon witnessing Mahabali’s devotion to his subjects, Vamana grants the king the right to visit his kingdom once every year. In doing so, Vishnu also allows Mahabali the right to enter his holy abode in Vaikuntha.
Onam falls on the 22nd nakshatra Thiruvonam in the month of Chingam in the Malayalam calendar, which in the Gregorian calendar falls between August-September.
An alternate tale also links the festival to revering the life of Parashuram, the sixth avatar of Vishnu who took birth to rid the earth of evil kings. It is believed that after completing his mission, he threw his axe into the ocean which promptly retreated from the axe and formed the land of Kerala.
While Onam is majorly celebrated by Hindus of Kerala, it is not uncommon to see Malayalis of all faiths take part in festivities. While far from being a secular festival, it is an inclusive one.
