MYTH

Shree Muttupan, like other gods of Kerala was never inaccessible to his human devotees, and often behaved similarly to his devotees. As the Dvapara Yuga was ending, a great assembly was taking place in the heavens. Brahama, Vishnu and Shiva all gathered together under the full moon to discuss the affairs of the world with the many Rishis (sages) that had collected in the palace of the gods. This was a rare meeting indeed and created great happiness and bliss within all those in attendance. The gods, goddesses and rishis expressed their intense joy by dancing, until they were unaware of everything but their blissful feelings.

It was at this time, when everyone was immersed in an ecstatic state, when space and time seemed to be in a standstill that Lord Shiva secretly created a replica of himself. His creation escaped the attention of all in attendance, except for one being. Lord Vishnu observed Shiva's trick and also secretly created his own replica. Shiva's creation traveled to the human's world, fully armed for destruction. Vishnu sent his replica to Badrinath to perform penance.

Shiva's creation proceed to destroy all the demons of the world and then began killing the Rishis as well. This caused the entire universe to enter into an unstable state. The Rishis made a pilgrammage to the world of the gods (devaloka) to ask Chitragupta, the loyal disciple of Lord Yama, the god of death, what the identity of this destructive person was. Chitragupta and Yama did not know of such a person. Likewise, Braham, the lord of creation, could not tell the Rishis the identity of he person who was creating the destruction on earth. The Rishis then decided to ask Lord Shiva who this being was.

Shiva admitted to creating this person, but also admitted that he was powerless to control this person's actions. Only Lord Vishnu could find a solution to this problem, said Shiva.The Rishis arrived at the home of Lord Vishnu, who was awaiting their arrival. Vishnu admitted to seeing Shiva create his destructive replica and disclosed his own secret creation, who was performiing peneance in Badarinath. Eager for relief from this destruction they quickly left for Badarinath, where they prayed for help.

The Rishis provided Vishnu's creation with the necessary weapons and he went to attack Shiva's creation. A fight started between the two beings. This fight lasted for 12,000 years, with no one party gaining an advantage. Finally, Vishnu's creation asked Shiva's creation to request any boon that he wanted. Shiva's creation asked the same question to his opponent. Shiva's creation asked that they should both be friends, and that Vishnu's creation should bless him for causing such destruction. This ended the long war between the two parties. Both parties went back into the mountains for penance.

One day, a sage named Narada asked Vishnu's creation to take an incarnation as the son of Ayyankara Nayannar and his wife, for the sake of protecting the world. In the small village of Payyavur, a Brahmin family named Ayyankara lived. The lady of the Ayyankara family was bathing herself in the river, performing rituals to propitiate the gods. She was praying for a child. She had been perfroming these rites for many months.

One day, she witnessed a basket floating down the river, with a baby inside. She, thinking this was the boon she recieed, brought the baby home so her husband could share in her joy. The boy grew up in the rigorous environment of a Brahmin family. However he was unhappy and uninterested in the ways and rituals of the Brahmins. Instead he enjoyed going to the forest with his low caste friends, hunting animals with his bow and arrow, and eating them. He also enjoyed drinking toddy. All these were very unbrahmanic activities. The mother chose to ignore these childish activities, but the father was not so patient. The father yelled at the mother for her son's actions.

One day, the son approached his mother who had been weeping from being scolded, and asked what the father had said. The mother said that she hadn't heard anything. The son who had become angry then said that Òwhat you did not hear with your ears, I had heard with my holy ears. I will not stay here anymore.Ó

The mother was astonished at the young boys appearance which seemed divine, his eyes especially were fierce and shining like the sun. He told her that he was going to go plunder Malanad, a neighboring town. She gave the boy advice, before his departure. She told him that the fierce look in his eyes evoked terror, and he must reduce the fury that lied within. He agreed to wear false eyes, made of silver to hide his original eyes.

The boy insisted on wandering through the hills, and armed himself with a bow made of palmyra, two arrows soaked in indigo and a double edged sword with no bottom. He was accompanied by four wolf cubs, and two tiger cubs. The boy then dissapperared like lightening. The mother realized with this vision that the boy who had been living with her was actually the Lord Muttupan himself.

The boy went to the hills and lead the life of a forest dweller and hunter. He first went to the rock top in Tiruvankatavu and then eastard to the remains of the high fort Muzhakkavallikkotta. From here he could see the whole world.

In the south he saw the splendourous Kunnattur Padi and decided to go there. On ihs way he saw a Adiya tribesman named Chantan a toddy tapper who was collecting toddy from a huge palm tree. The boy requested him to give him some toddy. But Chantan ignored him. The boy angered, cursed Chantan who immediately turned into stone.

Chantans wife was waiting and waiting, and began to worry when her husband did not return from the forest. She consulted the astrologist in the tribe to tell her where Chanatan was. The astrologer proclaimed that a gods curse had turned him into stone.

The woman went looking for him and after some time found him. The boy was sitting high on the tree drinking toddy. She weeped and wailed and addressed the boy as Muttupan (mother's elder brother) for help. She prayed and promised to make offerings to the gods malayilvittu, uuttu, tiruvappana and four amrutakalasam on the second day of the following month of Dhanu. As soon as she completed her utterance her husband transformed back into human form.

She narrated the story to Chantan. Muttupan then came down from the tree and revelaed to the Adiyar woman about what should be done to propitate him. Once again he went on his way towards Kunnattur PAdi. He first went to Anayadipparambu, crossed the Nuchyat river, besieged the Orakattidam Pandyala, paid obeiance to Kaliyar in Vayattur, crossed the tarakkaali river and finally paid respects to kizhur vairighatakan. the then conqured kanniyattu kalangode madappura(shrine).

Ascending the poongode rock he danced victoriously. Many more conquests were made by the time he made it back to kunnattur Paadi. finally he decided to settle on the peak of the mountain where he is still supposed to be.