Onam is the state of Kerala's biggest and most significant festival. It is a harvest festival and is celebrated by people of all communities with joy and enthusiasm throughout the state.Onam is celebrated at the beginning of the Chingam month, the first month of Calendar Kollavarsham in Malayalam.Popularity and presentation of the state's rich culture during carnival made Onam the 1961 Kerala National Festival.
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| Mahabali |
King Mahabali is the most famous legend behind Onam and the most interesting of all. Onam marks King Mahabali's annual visit to the state of Kerala.In his kingdom the King was highly esteemed and was considered wise, judgmental and exceedingly generous. Kerala is said to have seen its golden age in King Mahabali 's reign.Everyone in the Kingdom was happy, Rich and Poor were treated fairly, There was no crime or corruption.
The grandson of Prahlada, Mahabali, had come to power by defeating the Devas and taking over the three worlds.,Mahabali belonged to the dynasty of Asura but was an ardent Lord Vishnu worshiper.In view of King Mahabali devas' rising popularity and prestige, they was very worried and jealous. They felt threatened by their own supremacy and started thinking about a strategy to rid themselves of the dilemma.
In their fight with Mahabali, Devas asked Vishnu for help. Vishnu declined to support the devas in violence against Mahabali because Mahabali was a good ruler and his own devotee. He decided instead to test Mahabali 's devotion at a timely moment.
Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a dwarf to test the King, and a weak Brahmin named Vamana. He came to Mahabali 's Kingdom only after Mahabali had prayed his morning prayers and prepared to give Brahmins boons.Lord Vishnu takes Avatar to Vamana.
Vamana said he was a poor Brahmin and demanded a piece of land. The King said happily, he could have as much land as he liked. The Brahmin said he just wanted as much land as his three steps could cover.
The asura guru Shukracharya sensed that Vamana was not an ordinary person and warned the King against making the promise. But the compassionate King answered that a king's words would be a sin and asked the Brahmin to take the land. The King could not have imagined that the dwarf Brahmin was Lord Vishnu himself.
Mahabali decided to grant the land, Vamana began expanding and gradually expanded to the scale of cosmic proportions. The Brahmin boy covered the whole earth with his first step and with the other step he covered all the skies. He then asked King Mahabali where he could have the space to hold his third foot.
For the third foot, Mahabali offered his head for Vishnu to step on, an act that Vishnu embraced as evidence of Mahabali 's devotion. Vishnu granted him a blessing by which Mahabali could once again visit the lands and people he had ruled, once a year. This revisit marks Onam's festival as a reminder of Vishnu 's virtuous rule and modesty in accordance with his word.