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14. THE CONCEPT OF AVATARS
Keralites: Bali is still alive and will return every year during the autumn festival of Onam. For the Keralites he is also a Santa Claus or Father Christmas; someday, like king Arthur and Jesus Christ, Mahabali will return in all his former glory, and the defeated Chera culture will rise in splendor like the phoenix from its ashes.
Zacharias P. Thundy
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http://www-instruct.nmu.edu/english/zthundy
Note on Sisupala:
The Vishnu Purana contributes and additional legend about him. "Sisupala was in a former existence the unrighteous but valiant monarch of the Daityas, Hiranyakasipu, who was killed by the divine guardian of creation (in the man-lion Avatara). He was next the ten-headed (sovereign Ravana), whose unequalled prowess, strength, and power were overcome by the lord of the three worlds (Rama). Having been killed by the deity in the form of Raghava, he had long enjoyed the reward of his virtues in exemption from an embodied state, but had now received birth once more as Sisupala, the son of Damaghosha, king of Chedi. In this character he renewed with great inveteracy than ever his hostile hatred towards Pundarikaksha (Vishnu),. and was in consequence slain by him. But from the circumstance of his thoughts being constantly engrossed by the supreme being, Sisupala was united with him after death,. for the lord bestows a heavenly and exalted station even upon those whom he slays in his displeasure." He was called Sunitha, 'virtuous.'
Encyclopedia for Epics of Ancient India
It may be worthwhile mentioning here that St.thomas landed in Kerala in AD 52. Apparently archealogy and history of Kerala indicates that there never was any Brahminic community or Hindu Temples until AD 600. The only reason would be that the few Brahmins we were stranded in Kerala in the first century accepted Christianity. So we have to look for non Hindu Dravidian King called Bali. Since Jains and Buddhists were non-violent people the Mahabali who conquerred all the three Indias cannot be from those religions. We are thus left with Christianity. The only possibility is that Mahabali was a Christian King. Maha Bali actually means "The Great Sacrifice" typical translation for Jesus. It 340
