KOCHI: Pulpally, a nondescript town in Wayanad along the Kerala-Karnataka border is the custodian of unassuming landmarks that weave together the tale of Sita during her second exile. Articulate and genial, Thrideep Kumar, our host, teaches Sanskrit at Jayasree Higher Secondary School. Now, he is also actively involved in the everyday works at the Jadattilamma temple, which is to be our final destination of the Pulpally Sita Trail.
We began with the Valmiki Ashram, a modest mud-and-straw open structure where it is believed that Sita gave birth to her twins Lava and Kusa. The first thing I noticed while climbing the stairs was an elderly lady, frail and wrinkled gracefully with age. With Ramayana on our minds, it felt as though we were in the presence of Sabari herself.
Clad in a humble cotton set-mundu, she was busy lighting lamps and praying to Sita and her children. Considered to be sacred and dedicated to each of the twins, there are two bauhinia trees in the ashram. Thrideep explained, “Normally, the flowering season of these trees is from April to June. However, the two bauhinias here bear flowers throughout the year. It is a miracle.”
Across the road from the ashram is Munippara derived from muni and para or sage’s rock nestled in a paddy field. “People believe that Valmiki wrote the Ramayana from here. He also watched over a heavily pregnant Sita and subsequently, her twins. Our ancestors used to tell us that if you pressed your ears to the rock, you would hear the ‘Ramanama’ mantra,” he says.
We drove a short distance through the town, packed with the quintessential local businesses that lend a characteristic charm to small places. The shops, in turn, were packed with people. They are just happy to be outside after the pandemic lockdown is over.
Rather symbolically, the sun had begun to set by the time we arrived at the Jadayattu Kavu. Referred to as Pulpally Kavu in British records, the modestly built shrine is more than 200 years old. More recently, by preserving the heritage, a new temple was constructed here and the deity was consecrated in it.
Thrideep continued, “It was here that Sita refused to return as Rama’s wife and instead prayed to mother earth to take her back one of the iconic moments of the epic. It is the only time when its primary characters Lord Rama, Lakshmana, Hanuman, Sita, Lava and Kusa, and Valmiki appear together.”
In the spot where Sita is said to have disappeared into the earth, a faith column has been built. It is at the back of the temple. Legends say, at that moment, Lord Rama had tried to prevent her from going away but he was only left with a tuft of her hair in his hand. “As you can see, symbolically, the deity here does not have hair. Hence, she is known as Chedattilamma.”
Our last stop for the evening was the Pulpally Sita-Lava-Kusa temple. As night fell, the oil lamps inside the shrine shone brighter, casting a soft glow on the goddess and evoking an aura of divinity. Next to it was the shrine of her children, Lava and Kusa, which as Thrideep explained is perhaps the only known temple in Kerala to have installed idols of the twins.
Strangely, there are no leeches in Pulpally at all. It is said that one day Sita noticed a leech troubling one of her children while they were playing. Infuriated, she cursed its kind never to be seen in the village again. So powerful was the curse that though the forests are just a few kilometres away, no leeches are ever found in the area. This holds true even today, he says. In the end, it is not so much about the veracity. But the value and the enduring interest in local lore can only be measured in the bearing they have on our emotional affect because they are just that compelling by design.
I could not have hoped for a better host than Thrideep, who not only knew every little detail about the trail but also brought his very patient academic self to the evening. As he guided us through the culturally significant landmarks and narrated every tale with skilful storytelling and artistic flair, the gap between myth and reality seem to shrink.
The legend
Strangely, there are no leeches in Pulpally at all. It is said that one day Sita noticed a leech troubling one of her children while they were playing. Infuriated, she cursed its kind never to be seen in the village again. So powerful was the curse that though the forests are just a few kilometres away, no leeches are ever found in Pulpally.