Why a demon King is honored? Onam fest 2021
Onam celebrates the homecoming of the legendary King Mahabali. The main festival will be celebrated over three days from August 21-23. Yourcoimbatore.com wishes all Coimbatore-Malayalees.
Onam: Harvest festival
Mahabali, despite being a demon king, was said to be generous and benevolent. His rule is likened to the golden era. Because of this, his return every year is so widely celebrated. The festival is celebrated in the Malayalam calendar month of Chingam. Onam is also a harvest festival.
Mahabali: Demon yet generous
It is said that Mahabali defeated the gods and took over the three worlds. This made gods resent him and urge Lord Vishnu to help them in their fight against the demon king.
Mahabali was a devotee of Lord Vishnu and the god found it difficult to take sides in the battle. Vishnu, in his Vamana avatar, visited Mahabali. He made the king agree to his wish. Vamana asked for property rights over a piece of land that measures “three paces”. Mahabali agreed to this wish.
The Vamana avatar then grew in size and covered everything the king ruled in just two steps. To keep his word and honor, Mahabali offered his head for the third step.
Click to see colorful Onam images.
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