Onam: Where Myth & History Meet
BOOKMARK
As Onam is celebrated in Kerala and in the diaspora, nowhere are the celebrations grander or more opulent than at the Thrikkakara Vamanamoorthy Temple near Kochi. Linked closely to the story of Onam and the myth that connects it to one of Vishnu’s Dashavataras or 10 incarnations, the Vamanamoorthy Temple is the place to be in, on Onam. In fact, located around 18 km from Kochi, this temple is one of the few Vishnu temples dedicated to his Vamana or dwarf avatar and is considered to be one of the 108 Divya Desams or the important temples of Vishnu in South India.
The temple is connected with the legend of King Mahabali. According to folklore, the site of the Thrikkakara temple was the abode of King Mahabali, the mythical king of the region and he used to worship at a Shiva temple here. The Bhagavata Purana, an important sacred text in Vaishnavism described the story of King Mahabali and how he became central to this story.