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14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS
through the skin of the back. He spent a thousand years in this penance and obtained the favor from Lord Shiva that no god (Aryan) should ever have the power to kill him. While the king was reigning in his great glory, Anirudha, the grandson of Krishna , the King of Brindaban and Mathura, came in disguise to Mahabali's court and seduced his daughter Usha. The young man was arrested and thrown in prison. In order to liberate his grandson, Krishna came with a great army and defeated Mahabali; the young man was released and was allowed to marry Usha: King Bali's city was destroyed by Krishna's barbarian army later in an unprovoked battle. According to modified Munda and Santal traditions, it was an Aryan Kharwar Chief by the name of Madhu Das who attacked them at night and drove them to the fortresses of Vanchi (vindhya) Hills (the future name of Kerala) for the Bali's refusal to let one of his girls marry the son of Madhu Das. Such eponymous legends are similar to the Greek legends of the abduction of Helen and the Trojan War.
These legends show that Mahabali, the Chera king of Munda race and worshipper of Shiva, was defeated by Krishna, the Vishnu-worshipper. The Mahabali-story of the Keralites, in the Munda-Chera tradition, indicates the triumph of the Vaishnavite brand of Aryans over the Shiva-worshipping MundaCheras. King Bali is immortal and, therefore, a god; though he is defeated, he is still alive because he is divine. It is this once and future king Bali whom Keralites commemorate during the Onam festival. Incidentally, Bali is also called Ban (Is Onam then named after Ban? If that is the case, then thiruvonam is not necessarily a Malayalamization of sravana, as it is generally believed). Further, Bali/Balia is a common personal name among the Mundas. The name appears later as Mahabali and Maveli in the South where the Cheras had settled down. In Tamil Sangam-work, Puram (234), Maveli appears as the Vellala chief of Milalaikurram who was very wealthy and generous. "The gates of the mansion were never closed and he never sat to meals except with a large company." Maveli died of wounds received in battle fighting against the Pandyan King Nedumchelyan (Puram 233). Mahabali is remembered thus in another folk story in Tamil Nadu; in this story the enemies of Bali are Tamils. There are places bearing Bali's name in Tamil Nadu like Mahabalipuram and in Kerala like Mavelikkara.
The purpose of this discussion on the legends of Onam has been to indicate a well-known folklore truth that there is an historical nucleus to most myths and legends and that they undergo many changes in time, especially during the migration of ethnic groups. My contention is that Mahabali was a great ancient Munda-Chera King, a Shiva-worshipper, who was defeated by the Vishnu worshiping Aryans. Mahabali is still remembered fondly by the Keralites of all religious denominations, the decendants of the Munda-Cheras. Malayalees celebrate the memory of Mahabali as the British (the descendants of the Celtic inhabitants of Britain) cherish the memory of their legendary King Arthur who fought against the invading Anglo-Saxons in the fifth century in Britain. Arthur is called rex quondam atque futurus ("the once and future king"); King Arthur is expected to return once again from his exile in Avalon, like the Mahdi of some Muslim Arabs. Mahabali is exactly that for the
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