Putharikandam yield to be offered to Lord

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The maiden harvest at Putharikandam is going to be a revival of a custom of yore. The lore has it that Putharikandam was gifted to a Pulaya family by a king of the Travanco
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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The maiden harvest at Putharikandam is going to be a revival of a custom of yore. The lore has it that Putharikandam was gifted to a Pulaya family by a king of the Travancore Palace after a lady in the family unwittingly happened to be the cause of construction of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple.

 The tale says that when Villvamangalathu Swamiyar was resting under a tree at night, he heard the cry of a child from a Pulaya home. He also heard the irate mother telling her baby, pointing to a bush, ‘’If you don’t stop crying, I will throw you to ‘Ananthankadu’’’.

 Villvamangalam was more than pleased to hear this, because everybody was pondering over where ‘Ananthankadu’ was, it being the spot where the Padmanabhaswamy Temple was professed to be built. When Swamiyar told the king about this, the latter was so pleased that he gave the Pulaya family as gift a good acreage of land, which later came to be known as Putharikandam.

 Ever since, a part of the yield from Putharikandam used to be given in devotion to the Lord of Padmanabhaswamy Temple during every harvest. But as agriculture ceased and Putharikandam turned into a barren land, an age-old tradition also sank into the abyss of history.

 As the City Corporation and the Agriculture Department plan a pompous  harvest function on November 29 at Putharikandam, it will be a tread back to the yore. Minister for Agriculture Mullakara Ratnakaran, Mayor K Chandrika, Deputy Mayor, councillors, former mayor, former councillors, and members of Kudumbashree will together take part in the harvest function.

 On the day, the paddy stacks will be carried in a procession to the mandapam south east of Padmatheertham. A man called ‘Thiruvambadi Kurup’ will receive the stacks and the yield will be carried on heads along with musical accompaniment. The yield will then be placed at ‘Kizhakkenada’ as an offering to the Lord.

 It is a gracious moment for the Travancore royal family as well. ‘’Whatever be the tales about Putharikandam, it is indeed an emotional occasion for us. This is something that is redolent of a glorious past we once had,’’ said Aswathy Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of the royal family.

trivandrum@expressbuzz.com

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