Ajaysekher.net » Brahmanism in Kerala

Mamankam and Changampally Kalari: Ancient Practices of Healthcare and Martial Arts in Kerala

Ajay — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:33:47 +0000

Mamankam memorial: Changampally Kalari near Thirunavaya

The healthcare and self defense practices of Ayurveda and Kalari in Kerala are of Buddhist origin. They are lasting legacies of Buddhism in Kerala as literacy and the general intellectual culture. The Avarna communities like Ezhavas constitute the chunk of its practitioners traditionally and even in the present. Vagbhata and Nagarjuna who developed this indigenous practice of medicine were Buddhist monks who did missionary work in south India.

Pazhuka Mandapam near Navamukunda temple, Thirunavaya on the banks of Nila

Even in 18^th century, at the peak of Brahmanical untouchability and exclusion on caste lines, the Dutch appointed an Ezhava medic, Itty Achuthan of Kadakarapally near Cherthala to write the famous Hortus Malabaricus. Even today one of the ancient Kalaris surviving in Kerala like Cheerapanchira in Alapuzha district, that trained the legendary Ayyappan of Sabarimala, belongs to an Avarna Ezhava household.

Manikinar: well used to dump the Chaver, Thirunavaya

Changampally Kalari in Thirunavaya in Malapuram district is associated with Mamankam, the martial carnival that settled the succession disputes in ancient Kerala once in every 12 years. Historians like Velayudhan Panikasery argue that the festival is of Buddhist origin. Initially it was a great cultural and trade festival of human interaction on the banks of the great Perar or Bharathapuzha just above the ancient port city of Ponnani where trade and passenger ships from across the world anchored in the calm waters of the inland port.

Nilapadu Thara: vantage used by the Konathiries and Zamorins

Anyway the Changampally household was appointed in charge of the Kalari here by the Zamorin of Calicut in the middle ages according to local legends. The family has converted to Islam in the 18^thcentury during the Mysore occupation. When I visited the Kalari in early February 2012, Mr Jaffar Gurukal who is running an Ayurvedic centre near the ancient Kalari told me that before conversion they were Tulu Brahmans. This could be an elitist assimilation or fabrication done later under the hegemony of Brahmanical values; as Tulu Brahmans are never identified as traditionally having martial Kalari practice or institutions in Tulunadu or down south. Almost all Kalari households in Tulunadu and Malabar belonged to Sudra and Avarna communities.

Carving in Changampally Kalari

The Changam and Pally words in their house name are marked key words associated with Buddhism. Changam or Chingam represent Chamana or Amana or Sramana culture as in Chinga Vanam or Changanassery (place names in Kottayam district). As Sramana culture is inseparable from the month of Chingam and the great secular egalitarian festival of Onam in Kerala, the words Changam/Chingam and Pally/Pilly are also inextricably linked to the Buddhist past of Kerala that is the foundation of egalitarian culture here, that was erased by Brahmanism after the 8^th century.

It is great to see the ancient Kalari shrine and surroundings and the Mamankam sites being preserved by the Government and the people. An apt museum and interpretation centre that could educate the people on their rich cultural traditions can be an added attraction here. The road from Thirunavaya to Kuttipuram is also in good condition. The Nila Park just below the Kuttipuram bridge about which poets like Idassery have written is also luring visitors. I found a large group of Small Pratincoles on the sandy flats of the river near the park as the sun was setting beyond the river and into the trees.

Buddha as Krishna: Kilirur Temple and Kerala History

Ajay — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 09:57:45 +0000

Western gateway of Kilirur temple, Kottayam

Kilirur temple stands on a laterite hill surrounded by waterways and canals. It is so close to the backwaters of lake Vembanad that forms the heart of Kuttanad. It is locally called Kilirur Kunnummel Bhagavathy temple (hilltop temple of the goddess). It is just 8 km west of Kottayam town.

central temple enshrining the goddess. Oiginally Mahamaya, Karthyayani after 16th century.

The uniqueness of the temple is the relief of the Buddha inside a shrine now dedicated to Krishna. The idol of Krishna also looks like a Yogic Avalokitesvara in Padmasana. The shrine is in Gaja Prishta architectural style (resembling the butt of a standing elephant) that is associated with temples of Buddhist antiquity. It is facing east and the northern door is marked for Sri Buddha, but remains closed. There is also an ancient sacred grove and Naga deities towards the east of the temple compound on the hillock. Some of the former lords who were in charge of the temple are still known as Pallymenavans and all of them are non-Brahmans.

Ancient Naga deities in the Sarpa Kavu on the east of the Kilirur temple. A relic of nature worship and conservation related to Buddhism

According to historians and researchers this was one of the last surviving Buddhist temples in central Kerala along with Nilamperur Pally Bhagavathy temple (Ilankulam, Ravivarma, Valath, Ajunarayanan, Sugathan, Sadasivan). Both these Buddhist temples were patronized by Pallyvana Perumal, a Chera prince of the 15th century, whose image is still worshiped in Nilamperur.

Sapta Kanya or seven virgins. Originally nuns or Bhikshunis who pioneered Buddhist missionary work in Kilirur under the leadership of Pallyvana Perumal. Yellow robes and turmeric powder still used to worship them.

Sadasivan says that the Bhagavathy of the central shrine was originally the idol of queen Mahamaya the mother of the enlightened one. Pallyvana Perumal was a devotee of the mother of the affectionate one and thus he placed her at the centre of the temple. It is also remarkable that there is no Namputhiri Illams in Kilirur and even the Brahman priests who do their service in the temple never stayed in the place though they do daily worshiping rituals in the temple through out the year. The Brahmanical aversion to a Mlecha (Buddhist) holy place could be the reason for this, say researchers (Ravivarma) and local people.

southern temple dedicated to Krishna, enshrining the Buddha relief in meditative posture beneath Bodhi tree. Built in simple Gaja Prishta style. Facing east and its northern door is marked "Sri Buddha"

Local people still believe that the temple was originally a Buddhist shrine. Mr Rajappan Nair of Chandanaparambil narrated his memories and local lore about the temple. It is interesting that local people still cherish the legends of Pallyvana Perumal and the Buddhist connection between Kilirur and Nilamperur.

Idol of Krishna closely resmbling a Boddhisatva in Ardha Padmasana. Buddha relief is on the other side of the backwall.

This last surviving Buddha image in a Kerala temple must be preserved for posterity and the temple and its rich and composite history must be conserved for the whole humanity who value the life and teachings of the compassionate one. Further studies and excavations in the premises may recover precious details regarding the Sramana past of Kerala and its democratic and egalitarian culture.

Remembering local history: Rajappan Nair near Kilirur temple. 28 Dec 2011

Reference

Ajunarayanan. Keralathile Buddhamatha Paramparyam.

Jayaprakas. Padmanabhaswamy Kshetram Arku Swantham?

Ilamkulam. Keralacharithrathinte Irulatanja Edukal.

Panikasery. Keralam Pathinanjum Pathinarum Noottandukalil.

Puthusery. Kerala Charithrathinte Atisthana Rekhakal.

Ravivarma. Pandathe Malayalakara.

Sadasivan. A Social History of India. Google Book available online:

http://books.google.co.in/books?id=Be3PCvzf-BYC&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=Kilirur+temple+and+buddhism&source=bl&ots=9j3sOcnoAp&sig=Xwx0TxObZeQ25p3WftN1YHOWuMU&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Vvj7TvngB8bprQeJjKkH&ved=0CEgQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=Kilirur%20temple%20and%20buddhism&f=false

Buddhism in Kerala

Ajay — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 12:24:54 +0000

Buddha Sculpture at Mavelikara

The Buddha idols of Mavelikara and Karumadi in south Kerala are now well known all over the world. Today we see plenty of relics and ravages related to Buddhism and the Sramana tradition in Kerala scattered all over the state. Architectural and sculptural reminiscences are numerous apart from the vital linguistic and cultural imprints like the abundance of Pali (the ancient Buddhist Bahujan language) words in the present south Indian regional languages.

Karumady Kuttan: Half destroyed Buddha idol in Karumady near Ambalapuzha

The state is also known for the educational and health care achievements apart from its universal literacy. All these human development indicators are not just the product of 20th century evangelical Christian missionary activities and state welfare schemes but the lasting legacy of Buddhism, the democratic, egalitarian and inclusive way of living that shaped the cultural contours of Kerala from B C 3rd century to A D 13th century.

Nilamperur Pally temple: Converted to Hindu after Pallybana Perumal

Kerala is also known for its progressive left and democratic politics. This grass root level democracy and collective struggles of subaltern people are also a reminiscence of Buddhism that was the first missionary yet peaceful religion that welcomed women and outcastes to the mainstream community. The people or Bahujans who were defiant to Hindu Brahmanism after the destruction of Buddhism by Brahmanism were condemned as untouchable Chandals as outside the Brahmanic Hindu Chatur Varnayam after the devastation of Sramana tradition in Kerala. These Chandals or untouchable Buhujan masses were and still are the agents of Kerala social revolution or renaissance under the aegis of various radical social rebellions like the Narayana Guru movement, Ayyankali movement, Sahodara movement and various other progressive left and democratic processes in Kerala.

Buddhist Pagoda Shrine housing Karumady Kuttan, built by Dalai Lama

According to researchers, historians and thinkers like P C Alexander, P K Gopalakrishnan, Pavanan, Puthussery Ramachandran, Aju Narayanan etc. Buddhism was introduced in Kerala in the B C third century itself by the missionaries of emperor Asoka on their way down south to Sri Lanka which still is a Buddhist country. Jainism and Ajivaka philosophy also co-existed with Buddhism creating the great Sramana civilization of the South that has given birth to cultural classics like The Thirukural, Silapatikaram, Manimekhala and the whole canon of Sangham writing. The Buddhist, Jain and Ajivaka seers introduced the Brahmi script and the art of writing in South India. All the early inscriptions now available are written in Brahmi script in Tamil language. The ancient Tamilakam or Tamil country was a treasure house of Sramana heritage.

Tenth century granite Buddha at Pallykal Bharanikavu, Kayamkulam. Recovered from the pond of a present Savarna Hindu temple and placed near the gate now with the intervention of local people

Almost all the current Savarna Hindu temples in Kerala are modified Buddhist or Jain temples by coveted Brahmanism and its Padaja (Sudra or subservient Varna) forces. The brutal persecution of Buddhist monks/nuns and conversion of temples happened in eighth and ninth centuries under the leadership of Sankara the furious advocate of Brahmanical propaganda and violence. He argued with other religious scholars, defeated them verbally and annihilated them and their religion forever. His brutal followers and henchmen like Vramila Bhatta converted the seat of the defeated to that of Hindu Brahmanical temples with extended support from ruling classes.

He is also called Prachanna (pseudo) Buddha as he modified and disguised Buddha’s Sunyavada (rational theory) into the empire of the

A fake Gandhara Buddha in Mattaanchery antique market

Brahmanic self, the Advaita ‘theory’ that reiterated and enforced caste division and hierarchy with a peripheral and cunning shroud of unity that cheated the masses. Thirumulla Varam, Thottappally, Podiyil Mala, Sabarimala, Kodungallur, Thrissur, Kottakkal, Madappally and Bekal were world renowned Buddhist shrines of worship, learning, health care and nature conservation. In places like Mathilakam and Kiliroor there were even Buddhist and Jian universities and Research centres in Kerala in the early centuries of the first millennium that attracted intellectuals and students from all over the world.

Tenth century granite Buddha recovered from Maruthurkulangara, Karunagapally and now placed in Krishnapuram palce near Kayamkulam. Face and features badly mutilated

Pally is still the most popular affix used along with place, plot and family names in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra. The Pali word Pally means a non Hindu/ Brahmanic place of worship. In the ancient times it denoted a Jain or Buddhist shrine. Buddhism guided culture and society in the south for more than a millennium. It was erased from Kerala through the barbaric and coveted Brahmanic invasion that happened from the fifth to eighth centuries under cruel and reckless royal patronage and usurpation with power.

Karunagapally Buddha is claimed to be much older than Archeology Dept. says. Aju Narayanan argues that it is made out of a monolith in 8th century

Images and records of Buddhist persecution by the Brahmanic barbarians are still available in Kerala in the form of stone carved images, local subaltern orature and secret lore (Valath). The Hindu Brahmanic colonists burned the Pali canon and the sacred texts and knowledge systems of Buddhism in Kerala. These nomadic Aryans from the Vedic and Sanskritic clans of West and Central Asia introduced Sanskrit and Hindu religion in the South Indian Kingdoms. They found leverage in royal patronage through cunning usurpation and cheat. The legend of Onam and Maha Bali still articulates the historic deceit of Buddhist Bahujan culture by the Brahman dwarfs. Poets like Sahodaran Ayyappan has extensively written about the internal imperialism of Hindu Brahmanism in Kerala.

Vadayar Attuvela: A relic of Buddhist past

The Brahmans created the notorious sexual colonies among the Sudra women and used their male counterparts as foot soldiers who ensured the caste and Varna system, the practice of untoucahbility and pollution. The Sudras in return were given land and titles (as Nayar, Panikar, Thampy, Unni, Kaimal, Kurup, Menon etc.)with which they suppressed the local defiant untoucahable people having Buddhist lineage with bloody hands and weapons. These foot soldiers and menial hands of Brahmansim were absorbed to the Chatur Varnyam (fourfold Varna stratification of Brahmanical imagiNation comprising of Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Sudra) as the fourth and last Varna, the Sudra. The vast majority of people, the Dalit Bahujans were outside the cultural geography of Brahmanism as Chandals and Mlechas, as they are the former Buddhist and Jain population.

The Nayar dominance in Kerala history began in the middle ages with large scale Brahman settlements and militarization and still holds sway though they also want to be declared as a backward community now, as they still relish absolute power! According to state commission reports this power elites and historically advantageous group having less than 15 percent of Kerala’s population enjoy more than 32 percent share in government jobs. In higher education and universities it is more than 48 and in private owned print media and visual media it is almost 90 percent. Imagine the extent of Savarna Nayar hegemony in Kerala even today!

Sastha idol recovered from Cherthala. Dharma Sastha is a synonym for the Buddha and is clearly related to pre Brahmanic traditions, Krishnapuram palace museum, Kayamkulam

These henchmen of Brahmanism who cheated and killed their Buddhist, Ajivaka and Jain brethren to enforce Brahmanic caste and did the work of pimps by fetching their own women for the Brahmanic high priests with all the shameless pride of getting an elite alliance; are now hailed as the Samurais of Kerala by some fascist spokesmen of elitism who thrive in popular cinema and culture. This historical mediating middllemen are still the advocates of Gita classes, Veda and Vedantic obscurantism in Kerala and outside! They are the orchestrators of Hindu hegemonic discourses and the power heads of the Parivar forces all over the country allying with the Neo Kshatriya aspirants. They are also Hinduizing the Bahujan masses who are attracted to power and chauvinist social status! They need the numbers of Hinduized Bahujans for their pseudo majoritarian and fascist politics. It is an absurdity of history that some of them even today boast about their Brahmanical wedlock which was stopped just a few decades ago!

This Brahman – Sudra alliance or infamous Sambandham gave birth to the Manipravalam literature, the new Malayam-Tamil and later Malayalam and the Savarna elite culture of Kerala in the dark and dubious middle ages that Sanskritized and Hinduized Kerala elites and a lot of people. Even Syrian Christians boast about their Brahmanical connections more than 2000 (?!) years after conversion! Actually there were no Brahmins in the south in the A D first century! Then how could St. Thomas convert those absent Brahmans to Christianity? The coveted Brahmans came to Kerala only in the 4th or 5th century or later.

The power of Brahmanism and Hindu hegemonic discourse is that much tangible and an everyday reality in Kerala and India. This hidden Savarna elitism is the real culprit behind all the fascist pogroms and genocides in post Independent India. All the minority religions in Inida and Kerala like Jews, Muslisms and Christians still use the Pali word Pally to refer to their place of worship along with Jains and Buddhists in the south. Buddhism is making a second coming as an ethical philosophy and eco-spiritual alternative way of life all over the world and in India and Kerala in particular.

Smiling Buddha at Pallykal Bharanikavu, Kayamkulam

The historic affiliation to Buddhism in the philosophy and praxis of Narayana Guru the seer of Kerala modernity, his disciples and intellectuals like C V Kunhiraman, Asan, Sahodaran Ayyappan and now the new Ambedkarite Dalit movement in Kerala are significant. Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s illuminating subaltern hermeneutics of Buddhism in his masterpiece Bddha and his Dharma are also instrumental in the second rebellion of Buddhism against caste Brahmanism and social exclusion. Plenty of radical scholars and organic intellectuals in India and Kerala are now working on Buddhism like Gail Omvedt herself. It could be well assumed that Buddhism is emerging as the cultural and ethical alternative of the present and future all over the world and particularly in Kerala. The Bahujans in Kerala who lost their true Sramana legacy in the onslaught of Hindu Brahmanic internal imperialism are now recovering from the calamity of Brahmanism and its burden and looking forward to alternative paradigms and new ways of living.

Reference
Alexander, P C. Buddhism in Kerala.
Gopalakrishnan, P K. Keralthinte Samskarika Charithram. Tvm: Kerala Bhasha Institute, 2001.
Omvedt, Gail. Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste New Delhi: Sage, 2007.
Pavanan. Baudhaswadheenam Keralathil. Tvm: Kerala Bhasha Institute, 2008.
Ambedkar, B R. Buddha and his Dhamma. Bombay: Govt. of Maharashtra, 1980.
Valath, V V K. Keralathile Sthala Charithrangal: Ernakulam Jilla. Thrissur: Kerala Sahitya Academy, 2001.
—, Thrissur Jilla,Thrissur: Kerala Sahitya Academy, 2001.
—, Thiruvananthapuram Jilla, Thrissur: Kerala Sahitya Academy, 2001.
Narayanan, Aju. Keralathile Buddhamatha Samskaram. Thrissur: Current/Tapasam, 2005.

Kallil: The Last Surviving Relic of Jainism in Central Kerala

Ajay — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 16:27:34 +0000

The huge granite structure that houses the shrine

Kallil is a rock-cut temple in central Kerala. It is located a few miles east of Perumbavur in Ernakulam district near Odakali. According to historians like V V K Valath and P K Gopalakrishnan who have done extensive field studies and archival research in the local history of Ernakulam district it was a Jain temple till the7th or 8th century. The early 20th century commentators have also pointed out the Jain ancestry of the Kallil Pisharady.

Thirthankara image on the mantle

In the ancient Tamilakam Adikal denoted a Jain sage as in Ilanko Adikal the legendary Jain saint (who was the brother of Cheran Chenguttuvan the Chera emperor), who composed The Silapathikaram the Tamil Sramana epic at (Thrikana)Mathilakam, a few miles west of Kallil near the coast and north of Kodungallur also known as the ancient port of Vanchi or Muziris. It can be reasonably assumed that this rock structure was converted into a Hindu temple after the onslaught of Brahmanism that wiped out Buddhist and Jain cultures from Kerala in the seventh, eighth and ninth centuries through coveted royal patronage and usurpation. The historians record that the idols of Mahavira, Parswanatha and Padmavathi Devi were found from the temple. We can still see the relief of the Jaina Thirthankara on the rock surface above the front opening.

Elephant Icon a Jain Mudra

The cave shrine is housed on top of a small hillock. the top of the shrine is covered naturally by a huge granite rock. There are also images of Naga deities in front of the shrine. Now the image of the Devi is worshiped as a Hindu godess. There is also a rock carving or shallow etching of an elephant image at the back of the shrine, which again is a confirmed Jain icon or Mudra.There are also ancient ponds and tanks that offer clear drinking water nearby. The mineral water springs also confirm the fact that this was an ancient Jain Thirtha or forest cave shrine with a mineral spring that attracted devotees from far and near. We have similar relics of Jain temples in Wayanad in Sulthan Bathery and Mananthavady. In Palghat a Jain Basti still survives and a few families too. the place is called Jaina Medu. But these regions are close to the Karnataka plateau and are exceptions in the cultural geography and history of Kerala.

Reference

Valath, V V K. Keralathile Sthala Nama Charithrangal: Ernakulam Jilla. Thrissur: Kerala Sahitya Academy, 1991.

Gopalakrishnan, P K. Keralathinte Samskarika Charithram. Trivandrum: Kerala Bhasha Institute, 2009.

—, Jainamatham Keralthil. Trivandrum: Prabhat, 1992.