Sree Muthappan is a Hindu deity worshipped commonly in Kannur district of north Kerala state, South India. Muthappan and Thiruvappan, are considered to be a manifestation of Shiva and Vishnu, and henceMuthappan. It is said that if you call Him with Bhakti, He hears your prayer.
Worship
of Muthappan is unique, in that it does not follow the Sattvic (Brahminical)
form of worship, as in other Hindu temples. The main mode of worship is not via
idol worship, but via a ritual enactment of Muthappan, performed daily at the
Parassinikadavu temple. Fish is used as an offering to Muthappan, and people of
all castes, religions and nationalities are permitted to enter the temple and
take part in the worship.
Muthappan
is also the principal deity in the ritualistic Theyyam dance (Muthappan
Theyyam) performed in the famous Parassinikkadavu temple. The ritual performers
of Muthappan Theyyam belong to the tribal community of Kerala. It is unique
because in Kerala both the upper-caste Brahmins, and the lower-caste tribals,
both have a significant contribution to the major forms of worship.
The traditional story of Parassinikkadavu Muthappan
The
Naduvazhi Ayyankara Illath Vazhunnavar (a Nambudiri Brahmin) was unhappy, as he
had no child. His wife Padikutty Antharjanam was a devotee of Lord Shiva. She
made a sacrifice to Shiva for children. One day in her dream she saw the Lord.
The very next day, while she was returning after a bath from a near by river,
she saw a pretty child lying on a flower bed. She took the child home and she
and her husband brought Him up as their own son.The boy used to visit the
jungle near their house (mana) for hunting with His bow and arrows. He would
then take food to the poor and to the backward communities with Him. As these
acts were against the Namboothiri way of life, His parents earnestly requested
Him to stop this practice, but the boy turned a deaf ear to their warnings.
Ayyankara Vazhunavar became very disappointed.
One
day the boy revealed His divine form (Visvaroopam or Viswaroopa or Cosmic
All-Pervading form) to His parents. They then realized that the boy was not an
ordinary child but God. They prostrated themselves in front of Him and He
blessed them.
He
then started a journey from Ayyankara. The natural beauty of Kunnathoor
detained Him. He was attracted by the toddy of palm trees.Chandan (an
illiterate and uncivilized toddy tapper) knew that his toddy was being stolen
from his palm trees, so he decided to guard his palm trees. While he was
keeping guard at night, he caught an old man stealing toddy from his palms. He
got very angry and tried to shoot the old man using his bow and arrows but fell
unconscious before he could let loose even an arrow.
Chandan's wife came searching for her husband. She cried brokenheartedly when she found him unconscious at the base of the tree. She saw an old man at the top of the palm tree, and called out to Him as "MUTHAPPAN" ("Muthappan" means grandfather in the local Malayalam language). She earnestly prayed to the God to save her husband. Before long, Chandan regained consciousness.
She
offered boiled grams, slices of coconut, burnt fish and toddy to the Muthappan
(Even today in Sree Muthappan temples the devotees are offered boiled grams and
slices of coconut). She sought a blessing from Him. Muthappan chose Kunnathoor
as His residence at the request of Chandan. This is the famous Kunnathoor Padi.
After
spending some years at Kunnathoor, Sree Muthappan decided to look for a more
favorable residence so that He could achieve His objective of His avataram. He
shot an arrow upward from Kunnathoor. The shaft reached Parassini where the
famous Parassini Temple stands today. The arrow, when it was found, was glowing
in the Theertha (sacred water) near the temple. The arrow was placed on the
altar of the temple. Since then, Lord Sree Muthappan has been thought to reside
at Parassinikkadavu.
Another story
As a boy, Muthappan was rebellious. He was a great hunter and would skin the animals that He killed and wear their skins as clothes. One day, He came across a coconut tree that was being tapped for toddy, the liquor fermented from coconut sap. He climbed the tree and emptied the jar that was holding the toddy. When the toddy tapper returned and saw Muthappan, he immediately challenged Him. Muthappan turned the man to stone for daring to address such a powerful God as Himself in such a manner. During performances of Muthappan Theyyam, the performer consumes the toddy liquor and passes it around to the spectators. In this act, Muthappan “breaks” the temple rules by allowing alcohol into temple grounds.
Sree Muthappan is always accompanied by a dog.
Dogs
are considered sacred here and one can see dogs in large numbers in and around
the temple.One can see two carved bronze dogs at the entrance of the temple
that are believed to symbolize the bodyguards of the God. When the Prasad is
ready it is first served to a dog that is always ready inside the temple
complex.Local legends enhance the importance of dogs to Sree Muthappan, such as
the story that follows:A few years ago, temple authorities decided to reduce
the number of dogs inside the temple; so they took some dogs and puppies away.
From that very day, the performer of the Sree Muthappan Theyyam was unable to
perform; it is said that the spirit of Sree Muthappan enters the performer's
body for the duration of the ceremony. But He probably refused to enter the
Theyyam performer's body because the dogs had been removed. Realizing their
mistake, the dogs were brought back to the temple by the temple authorities.
From that day onwards, Theyyam performances returned to normal.
