| Temples & Legends Of Kerala |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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THE TEMPLES OF PADMANABHA |
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The vetta
(hunt) and arattu (immersion) processions held twice a year at Trivandrum represent the
universal truth that a spectacle will be complete only if the actors and the audience are
brought together. Though they have not reached the dimensions of the Dasara pro cession at
Mysore, they, in the words of J. H. Cousins, " exalt the simple movement of walking
from one place to another into an art-ritual by acting on the art-principle that a
spectacle without a spectator is misnomer, and by unifying the mover and the looker on in
a symbolical significance that concerns both them".... The two processions are two
phases of on i transaction that is full of universal truth expressed with impressive
art."
The idea is Vishnu as the protector of the universe sets out to hunt and destroys the
demon of destructiveness. The vetta procession simulates the progress of Vishnu to the
point when he runs the demon to earth in a forest. The climax of the myth takes place at a
spot in front of the Sundaravilasam Palace in Trivandrum fort, where two hundred years
ago, an attack, happily unsuccessful, was made on the life of Maharaja Marthanda Varma,
whose devotion to the Lord found unique expression in his dedication of the state to Lord
Padmanabha. |
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