India is a country where festivals are an important part of society, they not only help organize the society but also preserve our cultural heritage. But the so-called Leftist and Secular groups have decided to target Hindu festival comes with the sole objective to alienate Hindus from their festivals and attack their culture.
The Left and anti-Hindu groups have conspired to describe Onam, an important festival of Hindus, as a ‘Secular’ festival. As we know, ‘Onam’ is an extremely popular and ancient festival, which is mainly celebrated in the state of Kerala, in other parts of India it is also celebrated as Lord Vamana Jayanti. Hindus have been celebrating this festival for thousands of years, this festival has been well described in Bhagavata Purana and Sangam literature as well.
However, this anti-Hindu group is denying the Hindutva history of this festival to spread its propaganda and to distance Hindus from their roots. They have started calling Onam a Malayali festival, while mixing casteism in it to promote mutual disharmony among Hindus.
Last year too, a former Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac had put-forth misinformation about Onam in his tweet and tried to mislead the people. He also made objectionable remarks about Vamanavatar and also called him a cheater, who duped King Mahabali.
What do Hindu scriptures say about God Vamana and King Mahabali?
Onam festival is celebrated by the people to commemorate the annual visit of the famous King Mahabali. Mahabali was an asura king, who was very dear to his subjects, while the public also had immense reverence and belongings for him.
After the Amrit-Manthan(churning the sea to get the nectar of immortality), the asuras fraudulently snatched the nectar. After this, God Shri Hari Vishnu took the form of Mohini to get it back from the Asuras.
When Lord Vishnu snatched the nectar urn from the asuras and distributed it to the devas, angered by it, a war broke out between the devas and the asuras under the leadership of King Mahabali.
It is important to point out here that Dev and Asura are half-brothers as they are all sons of Sage Kashyap born of Aditi and Diti respectively. King Mahabali was a Brahmin, being a descendant of his father Rishi Kashyap, while the Left people create hatred among the Hindu society by promoting him as an asura or Dalit.
Mahabali became unconscious in this war, after which he was taken to Patal-Lok by his companions where Sage Shukracharya, the guru of the Asuras, revived him using the Mrita-Sanjeevani mantra. When Mahabali asked Guru Shukracharya the means to get “God’s Grace”, he advised him to perform Vishwajit Yagya.
On successful completion of this yagya, the received divine chariots, horses and, war equipment that would have made them invincible. After that, King Mahabali got so much strength that he displaced all the gods including King Indra from heaven.
Saddened by her children (devas) being banished from heaven, Aditi started praying to God Shri Hari Vishnu on the advice of her husband Rishi Kashyap. Lord Vishnu agrees to take birth as Aditi’s son to get their lost kingdom and belongings back.
However, God Vishnu had vowed that he would not kill King Mahabali, as he had promised the devotee Prahlada (Mahabali’s grandfather) that he would not kill anyone in his dynasty. After that, Shri Vishnu was born in the month of Bhadrapada in Abhijit Nakshatra to the sage Kashyap and Aditi.
The boy was named Upendran, who was dwarf in appearance, so people knew him as Vamana. Mahabali was performing an Ashwamedha yagya, when the God reached yagya-shala (the place where yajna was being performed). Mahabali asked what he should donate to God, to which he replied that he wishes for a place for meditation, for which he needs a land measuring his three steps, so he should be given so much earth in charity.
King Mahabali assured to fulfill this wish of the brahmachari child, after which Vamana took the form of Trivikram (conqueror of the three worlds). In this form, He surrounded the whole earth with one step and the whole sky with the other. Since there was no place left for the third, Mahabali submitted his head. God had sent him to Sutal (part of Patal Lok) with the third step.
God Vishnu had given Mahabali the boon of seeing his subjects once a year, and it is believed that King Mahabali comes to meet his subjects at this time every year, and it is celebrated ‘Onam’, the festival in joy.
Onam festival mentioned in our historical records
There are many historical records including copper plates made by our Hindu kings and accounts of foreign travelers that attest to the fact that Onam is indeed a Hindu festival. The earliest reference in this regard is the copper plate of the 9th century Chera king Sthanu Ravi detailing the annadan made to celebrate Onam.
At the same time, the Scottish civil servant had mentioned in his “Malabar Manual” that Onam is the day when God Vishnu came to earth to please his devotees. Francis Day, the administrator of the 17th century East India Company, mentions that God Vishnu comes to earth with his devotee Bali to see his subjects, know their joys and sorrows and assist.
The poem ‘Maduraikanchi’ from Tamil Sangam literature also gives information about Lord Vishnu celebrating the defeat of asuras. We also get information from Sangam literature that the Pandian ruler Nedunchelian (1850-1800 BC) celebrated the Festival of Thiruvonam (Onam).
Conspiracy to call Onam a secular festival busted
Just as Dravidians and Periyarists try to separate Pongal (Makar Sankranti) from Hinduism by calling it a ‘Tamil’ festival, the Abrahamic-Communist faction wants to distance It from the core of Hindutva by calling Onam a ‘secular’ festival. According to ancient Hindu history and astronomical evidence, king Mahabali used to rule in 11,160 BC.
This period dates back many centuries before all Abrahamic sects, which means that this festival was celebrated by Hindus during that time. In short, this evidence demolishes the false belief that Onam is a ‘secular’ festival.
Evidence of demolishing claims that Onam was secular comes from the church itself which calls it a “Hindu festival”. It is probably their hatred for Hindu festivals, due to which this group makes every effort to show down the festivals.
It is time for the Hindu society to stand up to this Abrahamic-Dravidian-Communist-secular faction, and fiercely oppose their attempts to denigrate the Hindu festivals.
