thanks everyone.......just had my onam feast......... n my eyes r drooping cos of it😛😛😛 well abt onan, it is kind of harvest festival........ so everyone celebrates it...i mean its not a religion bound festival.......everyone- hindus, muslims, christians....everyone celebrates it...... if they r malayalee.....
However there is a mythological story for hindus behind it.... its................ king Mahabali was the ruler of earth......n kerala was his capital.... Mahabali was the grandson of prahalad(devotee of vishu, to save him god vishu had taken narasimha avatar). So though he was a asura, he was a great devotee of God Vishnu....N it is said that, everyone were happy under his rule........n there was so much prosperity n love on earth that no one wanted to go to swarga. So Indra got jealous and he requested Lord Vishu to give a solution, cos swarga has to gain its glory. Also, Mahabali was doing a yagna and he wld have become the king of swarga, earth n patal(hell). n then there wldn't be any difference between the 3.
So Lord vishu takes the vamana avatar... n goes to mahabali and asks for 3 feet land. Mahabali agrees. Now Vishu increases his body........n with one feet, takes the swarga, with second the earth and asks Mahabali "where shld he keep the third"...... Mahabali understands that it is god vishnu, so bows down in front of vishu.....n says u can keep ur foot on my head. Vishnu was happy with this devotion and sends in to patal.... n he agreed to one wish of mahabali....that is mahabali can visit earth n his people on one day of the year.....n that day is onam........so hindus celebrate onam, welcoming king mahabali..... n v have this big feast(around 26 dishes)...n everything, to show mahabali that v r all very hapy, n prosperity is still there on earth, so that he can go back happily
Wish u all a happy n prosperous onam😊
Edited by lakshmim_84 - 17 years ago
