A unique legend of Vettakorumakan

 

As per Hindu Mythology there are many legends associated with different events in Mahabharata. One such legend is the story of Vettakorumakan which is a common tale one hears in the north Malabar region of Kerala & parts of Tamil Nadu. The tale is from the Mahabharatha when during the fifth year of exile, Lord Krishna asked Arjuna to please Lord Shiva & acquire his most destructive weapon – the Pashupatastra.  Arjuna walked to the Himalayas & conducted penance.  As the wish was to get the most destructive weapon Lord Shiva decided to test the will of his devotee. He along with his consort Goddess Parvathy took the form of Kiratha & Kirathi who were tribal hunters. Lord Shiva made a wild boar attack Arjuna & disturbs his penance which the wild boar did with grace. Arjuna, unable to concentrate on his penance, became angry & used his Gandiva Bow to shoot the boar with an arrow. At the same instance, Lord Shiva as the hunter also struck the arrow. The boar collapsed & when Arjuna went to see the victim he found another arrow along with his on the animal. At this instant Kiratha came to the spot with his consort & demanded the animal as he had killed it, to which Arjuna said that he had killed the animal. Lord Shiva wanted to test the pride of Arjuna & said he could never kill an animal with this precision to which Arjuna became furious & challenged the hunter for a duel. The battle was furious & could not find an end, this made Shiva angry & Goddess Parvathy realising destruction made all the arrows shot by Arjuna fall as flowers on Kiratha. This made Arjuna realise that the enemy he was fighting was no ordinary warrior & fell to his feet in forgiveness. Kiratha, overwhelmed with Arjuna’s devotion & valour, presented him the weapon. Arjuna after securing their blessings returned to continue his exile. Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvathy decided to continue their hunter form for sometime & lived in the forests where it is said that they had a son.

The story of Vettakorumakan starts from here where Lord Shiva & Goddess Parvathy return to Kailasa leaving the child to fend for himself in the forests as a hunter. The child grew very mischievous & was a great hunter. He killed many demons in the forests but in doing so he also disturbed the sages who were living around the forests. His mischief grew & it became difficult to control the young boy, to which they first approached Brahma who denied to help them as it was Lord Shiva’s son, when Lord Shiva himself was approached he laughed off the situation saying that a young child has mischief as one of their traits, when Lord Vishnu was asked for help, he decided to help the sages. Dressed as an old hunter, Lord Vishnu approached the child with a divine golden churika (dagger). The child was mesmerised by the weapon & wanted it for himself, so he asked the old hunter to give the same to him. Lord Vishnu assured him that the dagger will be given to him only if the boy promised to not harm any pure soul with his arrows. The boy gave his word & Lord Vishnu presented him the churika. One day Lord Shiva came to the boy & advised him to travel south so that he could rid people from unholy situations which were accepted by the boy. The boy travelled across mountains & rivers to reach Malabar & here is where the legend of Vettakorumakan came to be known. The name is given as the Son of Lord Shiva sent to fight against evil. This character as per Mythology does not find mention in any of the stories of North India but is well known in the South which is a first. Some do compare the story to that of Ayyappan but it is difficult to find a correlation as the legend of Ayyappan is only based on stories in the Travancore region.

The Chirakkal, Neeleswaram & Kottakkal Royal families consider Vettakorumakan as their family deity & his blessings are sought whenever they start a battle. The first place Vettakorumakan reached was Balussery & so a temple dedicated to the deity is present here for all to visit. The most important temple for Vettakorumakan is nestled along the Chaliyar River near the Nilambur town close to the Nilambur Kovilakam. This is the place where the young boy is said to have stopped his travel upon the request of the Raja. The temple is a beautiful work of architecture & is adorned with murals. The portrait of Vettakorumakan is depicted with the humble bow & the golden churika which was given to Him by Lord Shiva. The festival of Pattu Utsavam which is celebrated here is a six day annual event & is conducted in the Nilambur Kovilakam where participants sing hymns in praise of the deity; the participants are from the tribal community of Kurrupanmaars who are considered to be from the lineage of the deity himself.

The legend of Vettakorumakhan may be one that is lost in the annals of mythology but for people in Malabar, the story is of great importance as it helped them realise the divinity of the deity during their time of war with evil. Today visit the Nilambur Kovilakam & the temple to know about this hunter son of Lord Shiva.