“I am Black in colour”
That’s what Goddess Annapooreswari told the great King Valabhan Kolathiri.
Valabhan Kolathiri was known as the ‘Great and famous lord’ as he ruled over the land from his fort ‘Valpattanam’. With a battery of able ministers and a strong army of twenty five thousand warriors, King Valabhan was respected and revered by his subjects for being very just ruler. More over his subjects also praised the King for persuading goddess Annapoornadevi to come and stay in the village of Cherukunnu.

The legend is – once a sage from the Brigu lineage did prolonged penance at the shrine of goddess Annapoornadevi of Kashi. Pleased by his devotion towards her, Goddesses told the sage, she would accompany him to his land- Malayaland , today’s state of Kerala. Thus the Goddess and her attendants travelled by sea and landed at the west cost. From there she traveled into the interiors by road and reached the village of Cherukunnu where she held a feast for the Brahmins as it was an auspicious day, the dwadashi in the month of Makaram.

Meanwhile the King Valabham Kolathiri got the news of Goddess’s arrival in his land and he rushed to meet her. The pious King bowed low and requested her to grant permission to build a temple celebrating the memory of her visit. The Goddesses could not refuse the King’s request and thus Valabhan quickly ordered the building of a grand temple for the goddess. He invited the best craftsmen and architects for the job. When it came to the making of the idol, Goddess appeared in King’s dream asked him to cast the idol using panchloha (an alloy made out of five metals). King immediately set the best goldsmith in the land on the job. When the goldsmith completed the idol the King was dismayed to see the idol had turned black in colour. He admonished the goldsmith to adjust the proportion of the metals in the alloy and ordered more gold to be added to the cast so that the Goddess would acquire a glowing complexion. But inspite of adding more and more gold to the alloy, the casted idol invariably would turn black in colour. King was disappointed and unhappy as he could not understand why the cast was turning black. Late evening the King fell asleep burdened by the thought that temple consecration was getting delayed due to the black idol. That night Goddess appeared in his dream and said “Oh King don’t you worry about my complexion because I am black in colour. I am Maha Kaleshwari, the black goddess. Go ahead and cast my idol in the black panchaloha metal”.
King got the idol recast again and consecrated it in the temple.
Since then Goddess Annapoornadevi has stayed on at Cherukkunu, and she came to be known as the black goddess or Maha Kaleshwari.

Story Collected by: Vidya Kamat

Source: Lore and legends of North Malabar by Vanidas Elayvoor

Location Kerala

Image Copyright: Vidya Kamat

Jempel, the Bhutanese cultural guide who came to welcome us at Paro airport, was dressed in Gho or go- the traditional Bhutanese dress worn by men. Gho is a knee-length robe tied at the waist by a cloth belt known as the kera. On our way to our hotel, Jempel entertained us with his stories and impressed us with very fine details of Bhutanese history. It was evident that he really loved his job as a cultural guide.

Our favourite among the stories we listened to were the tales of Lama Drukpa Kunley, the divine mad man. Jempel’s eyes would shine whenever he would tell the story of Drukpa Kunley. A mischievous smile would break out, his voice would crackle, and he would begin by clearing his throat. “ Drukpa Kunley was a raving mad man and a poet, but also a highly respected Buddhist Lama who freed Bhutan from evil forces”.

Drukpa Kunley counts among the most celebrated adepts of Buddhism from the Himalayan region. He belongs to the tradition of  ‘crazy wisdom’– a legitimate Buddhist path and form of conduct which may include actions that would appear to be irrational or ‘crazy’, but are in fact part of the practitioner’s decipline toward his/her own liberation- He used poetry, song, dance, humour, liquor, and not least sex to teach spiritual lessons. In Bhutan, Drukpa Kunley is seen as a cultural hero around whom are spun a web of stories and legends.  Drukpa is also worshiped in the phallic form as ‘flaming thunderbolt’ and is a lucky charm according to Bhutanese belief. The story below tells how Drukpa in his crazy state created a magical animal called Takin.

Armed with a bow and arrow in one hand  and the thunderbolt in another, Drukpa roamed naked on mountains of Bhutan in freezing weather. Wandering around he reached a village in his naked form. The village elders prostrated before the lama, and asked “ You are a great lama. So why do you behave like an idiot and roam around like this?” Drukpa smiled and asked for the meat of a goat and  cow along with bones and skin to be served him. People were bewildered by such an outlandish demand by the  lama, but they relented and brought a cow and a goat and presented them to Drukpa. He ate the whole  goat and the cow right in front of the crowd. Villagers stood stunned seeing Drukpa gobble up two huge animals in one go without pausing.  Having finished eating the flesh, bones, and skin of the animals, Drukpa got up, and snapped his fingers in the air and opened his mouth wide. A strange creature with the head of a goat and the body of a cow wriggled out of his wide open mouth. The creature was a combination of a cow and goat, that he had swallowed moments ago and it was named Takin. Today, Takin is the revered national animal of Bhutan. It is also called cattle chamois or gnu goat.

As you enter Punakha valley you begin noticing the most unusal sight of large phallic graffiti painted on the doors, walls, house entrances, and shops. Legend has it that a demoness named Loro Duem was terrorising the locals by controlling either side of Dochula Pass and no one was able to cross it.  So people approached Lama Drukpa and requested to get rid of the demoness. It is said that when the lama set about the task of destroying her, she turned herself into a  grey dog and rushed to the top of a mountain. Drukpa Kunley followed her and  trapped her with his mighty penis in a chorten or stupa. She finally accepted Drupka as her master and became his desciple. This is the spot where the temple of Chimi Lhakhang  stands today and is known for its power to bestow fertility. After this event the village of Punakha began to rever the penis motif as a divine and protective symbol, and started the practice of painting it on the entrances of buildings and doorways of their homes.

Lama Drukpa Kunley’s unconventional ways of teaching and socially unacceptable behaviour, challenged the preconceived notions of Buddhism and  liberated the religion from strict and  dogmatic  religious practices. As a master, he was a poet and many of his teachings are immortalised through his own words.

Here is a fine example  of song about the pleasure

 A young woman finds pleasure in love.

A young man finds pleasure in sex.

An old man finds pleasure in his memoirs.

This is the doctrine of the three pleasures.

Who does not know the truth, is confused.

Those who have no goals, can not sacrifice.

Those who have no courage, can not be a Yogi.

 This is the doctrine of the three missing things.

Even if a person knows the way of wisdom; without practicing there is no realization.

Even if a master shows you the way, you have to go it by yourself.

Story collected by: Vidya Kamat

Story told by : Jempel – Cultural guide

Location : Paro, Bhutan

Image source: Wikipedia

There are many legends about king Vikramaditya, of which the two most popular works are the Vetala Panchavimsatika (25 tales of the vampire) and the Simhasana Dvatrimiska (32 tales of the throne). The former has been translated into English many times beginning with the rendition by Sir Richard Burton in the 19^th century. The latter has received comparatively less attention.

The Simhasana Dvatrimiska opens up a colourful world, full of adventures and miracles. At its centre is the Royal Throne or Simhasana of Vikramaditya supported by dvatrimsat or thirty-two statues of celestial nymphs. It is believed these statues narrate the stories of Vikramaditya’s accession to throne, his adventures, last battle and death after which throne was hidden as there was no one worthy of occupying it. Years later the throne was believed to have been discovered by King Bhoja of Dhara. But every time he attempted to ascend it, the statues brought forth a tale of Vikramaditya’s valour, throwing King Bhoja into a state of doubt and indecision over his eligibility to the throne.

One one such occasion, one of the statuettes spoke about how Vikramaditya was an upholder of the king’s dharma. She said: Once upon a time a foreigner came to see the king.   “O Deva Datta” asked the King “Where do you stay?” And the man replied, “I am a foreigner. I stay nowhere in particular, I travel all the time”.

What are the new things he had seen in course of his travels, the king asked. And upon being probed thus, the man opened up about a marvel that he had not been able to forget. “On the mountain where the sun rises, there is a great temple to Aditya, the sun god. The holy river Ganga flows there, a pillar of gold emerges from her midst and upon it sits a throne studded with nine gems. This golden column appears above ground level at sunrise and grows to reach the sun’s orb at noon. Then as the sun begins to set, it descends by itself and sinks in Ganga’s stream. This is the great marvel which I saw and it happens every day”.

The account stoked Vikrama’s adventurous spirit. And he reached the town that held the marvel, it was called Kanakaprabha. He prayed to the sun god, Aditya and then stayed the night at the temple. At dawn, soon after he had complete all his daily rituals and prayers, he witnessed the golden pillar rising from the waters. And with a quick leap, he jumped atop the pillar. As it neared the sun, the king’s body was scorched and soon he began to resemble a lump of the meat. Still it is said that the king did not, even for a moment, halt his prayers to the sun god, but that was until he fainted.  Pleased, the sun god restored him to consciousness and offered the king a boon, anything he desired. The king was however ecstatic at having met the god and said that his desires had all been fulfilled at his sight. The sun god gave him his earrings, studded with nine gems saying “Take this pair of earrings. From the radiance of their rubies comes the light of my dawn. They will yield a shower of bright gold every day”.

As the sun god made his way out, the column began sinking back into the earth. But Vikramaditya was not done yet; he wanted to discover what lay at the root of the pillar. But this was the nether world and upon reaching there he met the goddess Prabha, beloved of the sun god and mother of the world. Seeing him there and pleased with his efforts, the goddess gifted him a divine jewel that could produce precious ornaments at will.

Finally the king made his way back to the earth, but on the way back to his kingdom he saw a poor Brahmin beggar and his wife. Moved by his plight, the king handed over the earrings that he had got from the sun god and the divine jewel from the goddess Prabha. Without a moment’s hesitation the king had handed over all that he had received from the gods, and so said the statuette, King Bhoja, if you have such daring, generosity and fortitude, then you may mount upon this throne. Bhoja stepped back, his hesitation getting the better of him and the statuettes waiting silently for his next attempt and their next story.

Story collected by: Shweta Joshi Dixit

Source: Sanskrit to English translation of Simhasana Dvatrimsika by A N D Haksar

Like Trees, Birds too have a strong association with Mythology in India. This endearing story of Bhima and the Blue-Throat, a beautiful little brown bird with a brilliant blue-coloured throat, describes how the bird got its unique blue patch.

Bhima lay down on the forest floor after a tiring day and a hearty meal. The joyous season of spring was breaking through the cold of the winter. Flowers bloomed. Birds chirped. Brooks babbled.

In plays, even during the early years of this century, it was quite common to see men cross dressing as women, enacting the female roles, sometimes with comic hilarity. However, in Indian mythological tales, gods and goddesses engaged in transvestitism (dressing as someone of the other gender) or expressing trans-sexuality (transformation into a person of the opposite gender) is hardly a laughing matter. According to Wendy Doniger, in Hindu mythology the transformation of the gods and goddesses into other genders is ‘often lethal than fecund’.

Here is one such tale. Set in Tirupati it is about an act of Goddess Gangamma who exacts revenge in her transvestite form. Her devotees continue to enact the ritual at the temple even today. In ancient times, near Tirupati there lived a wicked local warrior and landowner by the name Palegadu. He considered it his right to rape every virgin girl the night before her wedding. He spread absolute terror and took pride in his power over hapless villagers.

One day he happened to set his eyes on Gangamma. She was drying her hair after her bath and he felt a wave of lust rise within him. Gangamma was furious at his amorous advances and decided to teach him the lesson of his life.

“Don’t mistake her for goddess Lakshmi”, quipped Dr. Satheesh, a Kannada scholar, who had volunteered to be our local guide . We were in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, where I found Siri amidst dense forest enveloped in cloud of mystery. “She has her own existence and her mythology is unique to the Tulu culture. Siri was a mortal who turned into a benevolent spirit. Her life resonates all the travails of an ‘Indian’ women- abused, humiliated and cheated by men in her life.* ” Satheesh laughed awkwardly as he introduced me to Siri.

Siri – a goddess from Tuluva culture is deeply rooted in the matrilineal system. Tulu language belongs to Dravidian languages and most of its literature is in oral forms called –pardana or paddana or sandi or sandhi ( oral epics narrating the legends of the local spirits bhuta-s and daiva-s). Cult of Siri falls under the worship of bhutaradhane or the worship of ancestral spirits where the deity or the spirits negotiates with their devotees through the ‘possessed impersonator ’. Siri paddanas- are sung by women while sowing paddy fields.

It is a story of three generation of women- Siri, her daughter Sonne, and her twin grand daughters Abbaga and Daraga and the tragedies that fell upon them. According to the legend an old wealthy Bunt (name of a caste) named Bermanna Alva ruled the principality of Sathyanapura. He had no heir of his own. Annu Shetty a son of his relative helped him run the principality but Bermanna wished to have his own issue to run his business and principality. Every day he would pray to god Bermeru (Brahma) to grant him an issue. One day Bermeru appeared before him in a guise of a Brahmana and told him that the neglect of the ancestral deities was the root cause of his sorrow. Bermanna immediately restored the ancestral temple and started offering puja to his ancestral deities asking them for forgiveness. One day Bermanna returned home with prasadam consisting of areca nut flowers and sandalwood paste. In the morning he found a beautiful baby girl in the midst of areca nut pods. Bermanna was delighted and thanked gods for blessing him with a daughter. Seeing her beauty he named her Siri . Siri grew at a phenomenal rate as a fierce independent girl, who spoke her mind. As per the custom of the time, as Siri reached her puberty, Bermanna arranged her marriage to Kantha Alva- a minor feudal lord from his principality. At the time of wedding, Kantha promised Bermanna that he would keep his daughter happy with all pleasure. Very soon Siri got pregnant with her first child. But Kantha neglected her and had begun visiting Siddu- a village prostitute. When Bermanna came to fetch his daughter to perform the seventh month baby shower ( bayake ) he founds Kantha enjoying his time with Siddu. After much persuasion, Kantha returned home and gifted a saree to Siri. But Siri refused to accept it, and accused him for gifting her a saree which is worn by his mistress Siddu . Angry for insulting him before the elders, Kantha abused Siri and vowed that he would take revenge on her one day. Saddened by the events, Bermanna brought his daughter to his home in Sathyanapura. Siri delivered her first child and named him Kumara. Court astrologers predicted that the child is cursed-and Bermanna should never see the face of the baby. Kantha refuses to come and see the new born baby. One day, Bermanna hears baby cry incessantly. He tries calling out to Siri but no one replies to his call. As he holds the child to pacify him he collapses and dies.

When Kantha comes to know of Bermanna’s death, he conspires with Annu Shetty and bribes the court officials to procure the succession rights of the throne of Sathyanapura. Siri looses the court battle and is thrown out of her home by Kantha. Siri curses her husband and leaves the palace with her new born child and her loyal maid servant Daru . She lives in the forest owned by Bola kings . On the way to the forest, she performs many magical feats suggesting her divine powers. Soon Kumara dies . (some versions do not mention death of Kumar but states he vanishes making a prediction that his mother would remarry and will give birth to a baby girl. He promises Siri that he would help anyone in times of need as he has turned into a benevolent spirit) Daru too dies leaving Siri lonely and heartbroken.

One day twin kings of Bola, Kariya Kaasinghe and Boliya Deesinghe find her in the forest and bring her to their palace after hearing her tragic story. They arrange her marriage to Kodsar Alva of Kotradi a local landlord. As predicted by Kumara-Siri gives birth to a daughter and names her Sonne. Siri dies after giving birth to her daughter. Before dying she blesses the land and proclaims that anyone who worships her will get abundance in their life and will be free of diseases and illness. (In some versions there is no mention of Siri’s death in childbirth. Instead it is said that she vanishes from earth after giving birth to Sonne)

The epic continues to tell the story of her daughter Sonne. She is brought up by Ajjeru ( an elderly person) along with his daughter Ginde. When Sonne comes of age Ajjeru marries her to a respectable boy by name Guru Marla. The couple remains childless after many years of marriage. She and her husband make a vow to Bermeru that if they are blessed with children they would devote themselves to his worship. Soon Sonne gives birth to two beautiful twin daughters who are named Abbaga and Daraga. Sonne gets busy with her daughters and forgets her vow to lord Bermeru. One day Bermeru comes in disguise of an astrologer and reminds Sonne and her husband “ If you forget your vow, lord would take back his gifts”. Guru Marla gets angry at the astrologer for uttering ill words and drives him away. Later that day, Sonne and Guru Marla had to leave the house to arrange the marriage for their young daughters. They leave their daughter behind. Before leaving home, Sonne hides the game of cenne mane *(a type of dice game)- knowing that girls get into a bitter fight whenever they the game. Bermeru ceases the opportunity and taking the form of a Brahmin sneaks into the house. He opens the chest and encourages Abbaga and Daraga to play the game. Soon they get into a quarrel- and in the fit of rage one of the girls hit the board on other girl’s head killing her instantly. Realizing that she had killed her sister, the twin sister than commits suicide by jumping in nearby well. When Sonne and Guru Marla return they find both her daughters dead. As they cry heartbroken, appealing the gods; Bermeru appears before them reminding them of their forgotten vow and his own reminder to rectify the mistake.

Note:

* According to Peter Claus the similarity between legend of Siri and tale of Kannagi from Tamil Sangam period suggest that both the tales might have been constructed on the same plot.

*Cenne mane(= board) is a board game. Only royal families had the right to use such boards. Ordinary boards are usually made of hard, dense woods, such as rosewood or ebony. There are two varieties. A portable one made of two separate pieces of wood about 14 inches long, each with one row of seven pits hinged on one side so that they fold on top of the other; and, the more traditional one, consisting of a single board eighteen inches long, with fourteen playing pits and two larger cavities at either end used for storing captured pieces on the topside, with legs at either end on the bottom side.( Peter Claus: Cenne Mancala in Tuluva Culture)

Story Collected by : Vidya Kamat

Story told by: Dr.Satheesh Chitrapur, and Dr.Chithra Kallur

Location: Kavathar, Dakshina Kannada District, Karnataka

Text source: Clause, Peter J., “ A Ritual Transformation of a Myth’. South Indian Folklorist, Vol 1 no; 1, 1997

Image Details: Decommissioned icons of Ginde, Abbage, Darage, Sonne ( in front row). Siri and Kumara ( at he back row) in the temple at Kavathar

Image Source and copyright: Vidya Kamat