Aranmula, A small agricultural village located on the banks
of River Pampa is in the news headlines recently for the wrong reason. This
peaceful village and its peace-loving denizens were leading a calm and quiet
life until recently. If to say more clearly just before the proposal for
Aranmula Airport has come. Destruction of ecology, dislocation of denizens, etc
created a furor and a series of strikes, which are still continuing brought
this tiny village to the limelight. However, even before this Aranmula Airport
issue begun, this village has a space in the tourism map of Kerala. It is a pilgrim
center as well as a tourist spot.
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| A scene from River Pampa |
Wide paddy fields on the banks of beautiful Pampa River were
a feast to the eyes of the beholders. Now, most of the fields are facing
destruction due to this proposed Aranmula Airport. Besides the beautiful
scenery, it attracted visitors with the famous Aranmula Snake Boat Race and
various other cultural events and shows including Kathakali, the traditional
dance-drama form of Kerala. Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is the main
attraction for the pilgrims. History or the legend behind this temple takes us
back to the period of the great war of Mahabharata. After the war and after
ruling the country for quite some time, the five Pandava Brothers appointed their
heir Parishit as the king and began a pilgrimage throughout India. As a part of
their trip, they came to Kerala also.
Attracted by the beauty of River Pampa and the peaceful
atmosphere, they stayed here back for quite some time. At that time each Pandava
brother constructed a temple each for worshipping Lord Krishna. Thrichittat
Temple in Chengannur has been constructed by the eldest Pandava, Yudhishtira,
Tiruppuliyur by Bhima, Tiruvanvandur by Nakula and Tirukkadittanam by Sahadeva.
At the same time, Aranmula Temple has been constructed by the third Pandava and
the close associate of Lord Krishna, Arjuna. The legend says that at the time
of construction of the temple, different scenes from the Great War have gone
through the minds of Arjuna. The memories were really touching for him as he
spent all those most crucial days in his life with Lord Krishna.
Suddenly one particular episode started haunting him. It
happened on the ninth day of the Kurukshetra War. Krishna insisted on Arjuna that he
should kill Bheeshma on that day. However, Arjuna was reluctant as he stilled
love his grandfather Bheeshma. Sensing the thoughts of Arjuna, Krishna jumped
out of the Chariot and went ahead to kill Bheeshma with his discus (Sudarshan
Chakra). Suddenly Arjuna ran near to Krishna and pleaded him not to do that as
it will break the vouch taken by Krishna. Arjuna caught hold of Krishna’s legs
tightly while pleading. Strangely, this scene was haunting him and he decided
to install the idol in that form. Hence the deity is called Parthasarathy.
Aranmula has been considered as one of the 108 Divya Desams
or holy villages by the famous Alwars, 12 saint poets as it is believed that it
was here that Lord Vishnu revealed the secrete of creation to Lord Brahma.
The major attraction for tourists here is the world-famous
Aranmula Vallam Kali or Aranmula Boat race. There is a legend behind the beginning
of this water carnival. Once, rice and other agricultural products were transporting
to the king’s palace from a nearby village. On those days, goods were
transported mainly using water transport, and huge, manually driven boats were
used for that purpose. It was quite common for the kings to collect such things
from villages under their control. However, on one such occasion, the boat got
stuck on the banks of Pampa. Though the laborers did all they could do, the boat
did not move a centimeter. King came to know about the incident and he himself
came there with a battalion of soldiers. Even those warriors failed to move the
boat. Then the king brought one famous astrologer and asked the reason.
Astrologer revealed the truth. The boat got stuck on the
banks of Pampa near Aranmula. There lived a family of Krishna devotees and they
were leading a miserable life. The next day was Onam, the grand festival of
Kerala and this family did not have even a piece of rice to cook. When the
children started crying, hapless father and mother prayed to Lord Krishna
at Aranmula temple to help them. The boat has been stopped by the lord and
unless the king is not ready to part a chunk of these agricultural products with
that family, the boat will not move.
King did as the Brahmin told and then the boat started
moving. However, a Brahmin youth appeared there are told the king that there
are several such people who are not able to prepare a feast for the Onam. He
asked him to leave all the materials at the temple. Suddenly the youth
disappeared. Believing that the youth is none but Lord Krishna, the king
agreed. Thus the Vallasadya (feast) and vallam kali (boat race) started there.
Aranmula Mirror is another attraction. It is a metallic
mirror with a front surface reflection. The alloy of this metallic mirror is
still unknown to all except a family in Aranmula. It is believed that the ancestors
of this family have been brought from Tanjore in Tamil Nadu for constructing
the temple. They were well-renowned architectures and sculptures. They were
working on different metals and metal combinations to create a wonderful crown
for the idol of Lord Krishna. Accidently they got a good combination which has
Being depressed with this they could not sleep also on that
night. However, Goddess Meenakshi, their family deity appeared in the dreams of
an old lady in that family and revealed secrete of the metallic alloy used in
When such a place with great cultural heritage goes into
memory, certainly it will result in the total destruction of the culture. That
is another reason for the people to fight against Aranmula Airport.
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