Onam - Kerala's harvest festival

Onam, for all its festive mood, is entwined with the rather dismal tale of King Mahabali’s exile into netherworld. As the day’s merrymaking fades out, we sigh at the knowledge of the noble King’s inevitable return to the dark world. But maybe, we should revisit the legends for there is a more cheerful tale about the origins of Onam.

As we know it, the story behind Onam is that the demon king Mahabali was sent to netherworld by Lord Vishnu in his reincarnation as the dwarf brahmin Vamana. In most re-tellings of the tale we are told that Bali was sent to ‘Pathalam’, the lowest of the worlds, as punishment for his ego. But the story as it is told in the Srimad Bhagavatam is somewhat different, say some Sanskrit scholars.

Bali was not sent to Pathalam as punishment but sent to Sutalam after he was liberated from his ego.