Guruvayurappan - Adi Shankara's visit to Guruvayur

Part 11

Shankaracharya's visit to Guruvayur

Once Adi Shankara was travelling [akAsha marga] to Sringeri and was contemplating on the Advaita philosophy: that the Lord is omnipresent and that the divine form of the Lord cannot be abstracted and placed in an idol.

While he was passing by Malabar region above Guruvayur, he smiled at the pompousness of the procession of Sreebhootha Bali (feeding celestial attendants) and tried to pass the temple without making any obeisance to the Lord. The procession had reached the north-west corner. Suddenly his forward movement stopped, and he fell down to the ground. He soon recovered and saw the Lord in all his royalty. The place where he fell was inside the Guruvayur temple, right next to little Krishna. He immediately prostrated unto Lord Guruvayurappan, realizing his mistake and the inaccuracy of his words. He realized that it was Lord Krishna who had taught him a lesson and there he composed Bhaja Govindam and 8 slokas in praise of Govinda, known as Govinda Ashtakam.

Even today, there is a small opening in the roof over the North-West courtyard portion of the floor to mark the spot where Adi Shankara fell inside the Guruvayur temple.

Shankaracharya stayed for 41 days at the temple  and it was he who instituted the ritual of *Mandala Vilakku* (lighting of lamps for 41 days).

It was indeed a divine play of the Lord since the Lord wanted to have the darshan of Adi Shankara who was a proponent of Advaita philosophy!

Another version

There is an interesting story about Adi Shankaracharya, the famous founder of Advaita Vedanta or the school of non-dualism which is connected with the temple of Guruvayur. At that time Shankaracharya advocated only meditation on the supreme Brahman, the formless Absolute. He possessed many siddhis or supernormal powers and one day when he was travelling through the air, he happened to pass over the temple of Guruvayur where Guruvayurappan was being carried round on an elephant on his daily morning ride! This is a ritual which takes place three times a day and crowds flock to see this divine sight.

Shankaracharya was about to pass on with hardly a glance at the procession below, when despite his fabulous powers, he found himself forcibly dragged to the ground in order to bow to the embodied Brahman who was being carried round on an elephant!! After this he became a great devotee of the Lord. It is to be noted that even though he was a pure Advaitin or advocate of the non-dual reality of Brahman, he established many temples all over India including the Himalayan shrines of Badrinath and Kedarnath and laid out the types of rituals to be followed therein.

Guruvayurappan - Experiences of Bhattathiri

Part 10

Experiences of Bhattathiri in the Narayaneeyam

In one of his conversations with the Lord, Bhattathiri fondly recalls the incarnation of Lord Varaha and says, “Oh My Guruvayurappa, Hiranyaksha came down and hid the whole world under water. You know what you did, you took even a smaller form and came out from the nose of Lord Brahma and you eventually grew to the size of a big mountain to become a boar”. Bhattathiri beautifully admires how the Lord became a boar and how he sailed through the air and jumped right into the ocean with the nose pointing down akin to a wild boar and picked Mother Earth on his teeth which were curved upwards. Bhattathiri admires the teeth which were sparkling white and the earth which was blue in color and looked like the third day moon with a little curve and streak on top. “You were so happily grunting!”, says Bhattathiri.

Hiranyaksha came out to look for Lord Hari and enquired the Lord’s whereabouts with Sage Narada, who asked him to go to the forests. On seeing the Lord in the guise of a boar, Hiranyaksha started attacking the boar form of the Lord. The Lord accepted all the blows by Hiranyaksha just as a beautiful lotus garland around the neck and still blessed him with Moksha. Bhattathiri was in awe of the Lord’s immense compassion for Hiranyaksha. This is verily an instance of how Bhattathiri enjoyed the Leela of Lord in Narayaneeyam.

When Gajendra shouted “Narayana Akhila Guro Bhagawan Namaste”, the Lord came on Garuda and blessed him with liberation [moksha], the greatest of the greatest. Suddenly Bhattathiri had a doubt on the Lord’s form. The Lord had four hands and in one hand he was holding the conch [shankha], in the other hand he had the discus [chakra], mace [gada] in the third hand and lotus in the fourth hand. He was sure of the first three items namely the conch, discus and mace which are verily the Lord’s sporting items in Vaikuntam and Ocean of milk. He was unsure about the lotus in the Lord’s fourth hand and so he enquired about it and the Lord replied that it was verily the lotus that was offered at the Lord’s holy feet by Gajendra. He had offered a lotus from the pond when the Lord saved him from the crocodile. It is a fact that the Lord holds whatever that is offered by a devotee very close to his heart.

Out of hundred dashakams In Narayaneeyam, about seventy to eighty dashakams are dedicated to Lord Krishna’s divine plays. He delineated all the divine plays of the Lord in Narayaneeyam. During Kaliya Nartanam, he was unable to believe that Guruvayurappan danced on the head of Kaliya, the thousand headed snake. He jumped from the branch of a Kadamba tree right on the snake and touched the tail first. Kaliya soon entwined Lord Krishna with his tail and took him inside the waters. Lord Krishna was inside the waters for a few minutes as if caught by the snake. Gopas and Gopis, who were standing on the banks of the river Yamuna, started crying since they were not able to see him and thought that they had lost him. The Lord wanted to play a prank on the Gopas and Gopis and so hid himself in the waters. They were unable to comprehend this and started weeping. The Lord then realized that it was not the right time to play pranks and so he immediately came out of the waters and jumped right on Kaliya’s head and started to dance.

The cadence in which Bhattathiri described Kaliya Nartanam was in the same meter in which the Lord danced on Kaliya and the reason Bhattathiri was able to portray the divine play in such a visual manner was only because the Lord performed the leela in front of Bhattathiri. Even today there are lots of inscriptions on Lord Krishna’s divine plays on the temple pillars in Guruvayur, which stands as a testimony to the precept that Lord Krishna himself had played the leelas there.

Dashakam means a set of ten shlokas. After every dasakam, he cries out to the Lord – “Oh! My Lord Guruvayurappa, you have bestowed your grace on everyone, will you not bestow your grace on me?” He was suffering from rheumatism and cried out to the Lord that only he can cure him of that disease. The Lord wanted to extract Narayaneeyam from Bhattathiri and that was exactly the reason he was afflicted with the disease.

When Bhadrachalam Ramadas was imprisoned, he thought it was a good time to sing kirtans on Lord Rama. He was least bothered by the problems inside the prison in Golkonda fort and he was only thinking about Lord Rama. Even today one can see the gory place where Bhadrachalam Ramadas was imprisoned.

If we take the life-history of Bhakta Meera, she was in absolute peace with her Giridhari even when she was tortured by King Rana. Brindavan was in her heart and she did not want to go anywhere! It was only when Rana banished her, she moved to Brindavan.

When Mahans undergo more and more sufferings, it only makes them more and more aligned to the Lord. It's an important lesson for all devotees to emulate them during their worst times, as it brings out the best in them!

Guruvayurappan - Narayaneeyam and Bhattathiri

Part 9

Narayaneeyam and Bhattathiri

Narayaneeyam is the story of Lord Narayana written by Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri. It is a work consisting of 1034 slokas or verses, divided into 100 dashakams or chapters, each dashakam consisting of approximately 10 slokas. It is a condensed version of the Bhagavata Purana, which consists of 18,000 slokas authored by Veda Vyasa. It is said that the work has the blessings of Lord Krishna or Guruvayurappan, the presiding Deity of Guruvayur.

Narayaneeyam narrates a series of episodes from the Bhagavata Purana, choosing the most pious of the lot. The incarnations of Vishnu are traced with piety, Bhattathiri transforms the episodes into solemn prayers, pouring out his soul in total supplication before the Lord. The final dashaka describes top-to-toe picture of little Krishna in all grace and glory.

Afflicted by acute rheumatism, Bhattathiri somehow reached the temple of Guruvayur and fully surrendered himself at the feet of the Lord. He prostrated in deep devotion and started to pray, singing His glory and worshipping him every day. He composed and rendered one dashakam each day to the Lord. Thus, in 100 days of sincere worship, Narayaneeyam consisting of 100 dashakams was composed.

In the vathil madam near the entrance of the temple, he struggled to sit erect facing the idol, being stricken with rheumatism. Oblivious of the physical disabilities the devotee, in blissful concentration, suddenly stiffened when he had a divine vision from the sanctum sanctorum and soon thereafter words flowed incessantly commencing with, "Saandranandaavabodhathmakam…"

In the first stanza he says, "asphashtam drushtamathre” meaning the vision of the god was not clear. After that he was no longer looking at the idol, but the God himself was appearing in all his splendour, goading him and guiding him to compose on and on.

Bhattathiri imagined the child Krishna sitting in front of him, listening avidly to the stories of his own incarnations. Hence many of the stories sound as if they are being told to a child. At times the pain would be too intense for him and he would stop in the middle of a story and throw his stylus down and refuse to go any further even though the child was anxious to hear the end of the story. At this time, it is said that the child Krishna would come close and stroke his limbs and make him fit to carry on with the tale further.

These verses written in pain and agony invoked the sympathy and grace of the Lord. At the end of each dashakam each day, he would pray for the mercy and kindness of the Lord to cure his disease. Soon the Lord showered His grace on him and on the 100th day the Lord blessed him with His vision after listening to Narayaneeyam to the fullest and cured his disease and finally came in front of him. He was standing not with four hands as seen by Vasudeva but in the form of a beautiful Krishna with two arms holding a flute. Bhattathiri was overwhelmed with ecstasy and in the 100th dashakam he cries out – ‘Agre Pashyami’ – Here I see him in front of me – and he gives a vivid description of the most enchanting form of the Lord he saw – from head to foot – Keshaadi Paadam.

When the Lord come in front of Mahans, they normally perform a “Padadi kaesha Varnanam” or “KeshAdi pAda varnanam”, where the former means a stuthi starting from the feet all the way to the head of the Lord while, the latter means a stuthi starting from the head of the Lord all the way to the Lord’s feet. Here Bhattathiri starts from the head. The reason why Mahans do not start from the feet is because the Lord’s feet are so beautiful and alluring that they cannot go beyond the holy feet.  Bhattathiri described the form of the Lord just as how he saw the Lord in front of him and he finally prostrated unto to the holy feet of the Lord which was so soft and tender. He ended Narayaneeyam with a very auspicious word, Lakshmi Sandoha Lakshmi. When one reads Narayaneeyam, will be bestowed with devotion to the Lord [Bhakti] which is verily the greatest of all Lakshmis!

When Narayaneeyam was being composed, the poet is said to have had quite a few memorable and, at times, anxious moments rendering him perplexed. For instance, when the dashakam on the Avatara of Narasimha was being composed, the narration came to a stage when the terrible demon King Hiranyakashipu hit the pillar with his bare arm breaking it at once.  At this point the poet was tongue tied, which made him cry out, "O Vishnu! O Lord! I am unable to describe that great form in which you appeared nor the events that followed immediately. O All Merciful! O All-pervading One! O resident of Guruvayur! Be gracious to help me and save me.”  (24th dashaka 10th verse)

The story is that at this point Guruvayurappan once again took up the form of Narasimha, emerged from the pillar in front of the poet and revealed himself before him, inspiring him to describe the celestial sight! The description of Narasimha Avataram was then composed in a separate dashakam.

He was unable to imagine that the little innocent Guruvayurappan came down in the form of a half human and half lion form and tore Hiranyakashipu apart and so he questioned the Lord – “Oh Guruvayurappa, were you the one who came down as Lord Narasimha who tore Hiranyakashipu’s intestines apart and wore them as a garland around your neck?” Guruvayurappan then enacted the whole Prahalada charitra in front of Bhattathiri. Such is the greatness of Narayaneeyam!

"All that has been written is of you and is yours only Lord Krishna, to that Lord Krishna is all this surrendered."

Narayana Bhattathiri composed Narayaneeyam at the age of 27. With the Lord's grace showering on him, he lived as a respected philosopher, poet and saint to the age of 96 years. He has to his credit many masterly compositions of poetry, essays and books on philosophy and Sanskrit grammar.

The unique features of Narayananeeyam, which endears it to all devotees are many:

Firstly, it has been written when in great pain and agony and hence echoes the poet’s heartfelt sincere prayer and high devotion.

Secondly, it is written in first person singular, as a direct conversation with the Lord. So, anybody reading it would also be addressing the Lord directly in first person. This has a magnetic effect on the devotees in terms of nearness to the Lord.

Thirdly, since this hymn has practically cured the poet’s disease, it is a tonic for – Aayu, Aarogya, Saukhyam – longevity, health and happiness, for all those who approach it with sincerity of faith and devotion.

Guruvayurappan - Poonthanam liberates two Devatas

Part 8

Poonthanam liberates two Devatas

One night, Poonthanam had the following dream. A beautiful airplane landed in the courtyard of his house. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ (Celestial servants of Maha-Vishnu) had come to pick up Poonthanam to take him to Vaikuntam. Poonthanam received them appropriately. The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ led him to the plane with due respect. That plane passed through many worlds and reached Vaikuntam. The celestials guided him throughout and Poonthanam got out of the plane. He saw many other Vishnu-Parshadas there who all had reached Maha-Vishnu’s abode due to their intense Bhakti-yoga. Poonthanam did namaskaram to the divine place.

As soon as he reached the entrance two divine gatekeepers bowed humbly while receiving him. Poonthanam thought he was unfit to receive that kind of honour from those Devatas. But they said they were two plantain trees growing near the portico in Poonthanam’s house in their previous birth. They got to hear Poonthanam’s Bhagavatham recitation every day, which elevated them to the level of immortals. So, they respected Poonthanam as their Gurudeva.

By this Poonthanam woke up from his dream with exciting memories of Vaikuntam. When he went to the front yard in the morning, he saw those two plantain trees fallen on the ground!

Another version

The Lord was very fond of Bhagavatam and hence Poonthanam used to read Bhagavatam all the time in his house. One day he had some guests at home and was not able to do Bhagavata Parayanam.

So he went to the backyard of his house since he did not want to ill-treat the guests and started reading Bhagavatam. He was reading the third canto - to be more specific, the 14th and 15th chapters - the incarnation Varaha Avatar, where the Devas went to meet Lord Brahma and they are consoled by Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma describes the Sanatkumaras’ voyage to Vaikuntam and the fifteenth chapter in the third canto describes Vaikunta in fine detail such as “The bees continuously buzz the names of Lord Hari and all the birds and animals chant the divine names and sing his divine glories.”

Poonthanam immediately went into a bhava where he himself goes to Vaikuntam and there he sees two people prostrating unto him. He immediately enquired about them and who they were. Devas replied that they were two plantain trees in Poonthanam’s backyard, and they were liberated by listening to Bhagavatam. Poonthanam wondered again at the greatness of Bhagavatam. The very listening of Bhagavatam bestows one with Vaikunta. It need not be a human and in this case it was a tree that was bestowed with liberation by listening to Bhagavatam, verily because the Lord is “Mara Prabhuhu”.

A New Krishna temple for Old Poonthanam and his celestial journey later

As Poonthanam grew old, he found it very difficult to travel up to Guruvayur. Once he set out for Guruvayur to see his dearest Bhagavan. But, after walking just a little distance, he felt extremely tired and had to abandon the trip. At this point, Poonthanam cried out to Guruvayurappan lamenting his inability to meet Bhagavan. Immediately, he saw Guruvayurappan standing on his left side (Idathu puram).

Bhagavan blessed Poonthanam, "You need not walk all the way to Guruvayur temple - I will be personally present here to accept your worship. Construct a temple here and do your worship."

Accordingly, a temple was constructed at that place, very soon. (It is very close to the Angadipuram Railway Station on the Shoranur - Nilambur railway line. This temple is walking distance from the station. There is a shortcut from Poonthanam’s house to this temple.) Poonthanam eulogized this Deity in many of his works as “Vaamapuraadi-naatha” (Vaama = left). At this temple, there is a marking on the ground to indicate the area where Poonthanam paid his ‘danda namaskaram’ to Bhagavan Krishna and we can easily understand that Bhagavan was to his left.

The Ultimate benediction: Vaikuntam

Poonthanam was getting too old. He couldn’t travel anymore. He remained at home and spent most of his time in reciting Bhagavatham and meditation. He used to get visions of Bhagavan very often. But others couldn’t understand what he was talking about. They thought he had gone senile.

One day Poonthanam said, “The ‘Vishnu-Parshadas’ are visiting our house tomorrow. So the whole house needs to be decorated with plantain trees and so on." Poonthanam’s servants thought he was going crazy. Still they completed all arrangements, as he had instructed. Next morning, while Poonthanam was resting after meditation, he could see the plane coming to fetch him. Immediately he called his wife and asked her to get ready to go as the plane had landed. She did not take it seriously and said she had to do a few more things in the kitchen. The maid servant who was listening to their conversation asked for his permission to go with him. Poonthanam gladly agreed.

After some time, Poonthanam’s wife finished her chores and came out. Poonthanam was missing and she saw the maid servant lying dead. Ever since nobody has seen Poonthanam!  Vedic Astrology and Tantras confirm the above-mentioned events. 

As desired by Guruvayurappan, traditions associated with Poonthanam are ritualistically celebrated at Guruvayur temple every year. His statue was also installed in the temple premises.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya!

Guruvayurappan - Vilwamangalam Swamy and his helper Variar

Part 7

Vilwamangalam Swamy's Visions

Sri Vilwamangalam Swamy's devotion and dedication towards the Lord was such that he could have visions of Bhagavan, independent of the image. Wherever he went, he had visions of the deities there. In Guruvayur it was Unnikrishnan.

Whenever he came to Guruvayur for darshan, Bhagavan granted him vision from the Sanctum-Sanctorum (central shrine). One day he did not get Bhagavan's vision from there. He went around the temple in search of Bhagavan. The sound of tinkling bells from the northern chuttambalam attracted his curiosity. He peeped in and saw Unnikrishnan dancing there. From that day onwards this place came to be known as Nritham (Nrithappura or dancing hall).

On another occasion also, he could not see Bhagavan's vision in the central shrine. Later he found Bhagavan sitting amidst the Marar boys (drummer's boys) and sharing a feast with them, as Guruvayurappan was fond of the feast given to the Marar boys. It later became an important offering with the devotees.

A third time also, he failed to have Guruvayurappan's vision in the central shrine. Night had fallen and the Krishnanattam was being staged in the courtyard. The saint ultimately found Him on the stage with the 'gopikas'. Since then, Krishnanattam came to be staged in the northern bahyankana (outer courtyard) instead of the eastern bahyankana. And it begins only when the central shrine is closed after the last pooja at night.

Variar's Buffalo (One Version)

Swami Vilwamangalam (Vilwamangalam Takura) was a renowned Vaishnava Spiritual Master. He had an illiterate personal helper called Variar.

One day when the Swami was worshipping Bhagavan Guruvayurappan, Variar curiously asked his master Vilwamangalam:

"Oh my Lord ! In which form do you worship Guruvayurappan?"

The great Vilwamangalam did not like this "stupid" question. Highly annoyed, he replied sarcastically:

"In the form of a Buffalo!"

Variar being a very innocent man, believed his master's words. He was convinced that Bhagavan Krishna's real form is that of a "Buffalo". Thereafter, Variar started worshipping Sri Krishna as a Buffalo.

After a few months, one day Guruvayur temple's "Seeveli" procession was in progress. As usual, Vilwangalam Swami was in attendance accompanied by Variar.

The temple's Pujari was trying to carry and bring the deity outside. However, he could not manage to get the idol out of the main door. He tried again and again but all efforts failed. All the devotees were watching this in utter bewilderment. When many cycles of repeated efforts failed, everyone started worrying. Finally, they sought the help of the great Swami Vilawamangalam who was fortunately available on the spot.

The renowned Spiritual Master thought a lot but failed to get any clue. When even Vilwamangalam stood helpless, everyone became frantic.

Variar was watching all this drama hoping that his master will solve the problem easily. But when Vilwamagalam also failed, Variar decided to intervene. He suggested aloud:

"Oh Pujari! Why don't you tilt Bhagavan's head a bit to left of right?"

Listening to this suggestion, the Pujari tilted the Deity a little and by doing so easily passed the door. Everyone was pleased, except Vilwamangalam.

Without understanding all this, the Swami started scolding Variar for the "unwanted intervention."

Variar replied politely:

"My Lord! Who doesn't know that the Buffalo can pass the door only after tilting his head a little?"

The great Saint Vilwamangalam was astonished to hear this. He meditated deeply on Guruvayurappan and then looked at the Deity...

...And had the glorious vision of a divine "Buffalo" holding Shankha, Chakra, Gada and Padmam in HIS four hands!

(Another Version of this same story is that it happened between Bhattadri and Poonthanam)

The message is loud and clear, that the Lord needs ONLY our pure and simple love and nothing else!

Guruvayurappan - Poonthanam and Lord Shiva at Kottiyoor

Part 6

Poonthanam's rendition of Bhagavatam attracts Lord Shiva

Poonthanam worshipped Guruvayurappan (Lord Krishna) with all his heart. People loved him for his beautiful Bhagavatam discourses. There is a temple in North Kerala called Kottiyoor. The presiding deity in the temple is Lord Shiva. The temple was kept open only for a few days in a year. There was no human activity in that place for the rest of the year.

Once Poonthanam reached the Kottiyoor temple and bathed in the holy water. He worshiped the compassionate Lord Shiva, felt happy and stayed there for a few days. He recited Bhagavatam every day in front of the deity and hundreds of people listened to his sweet discourse on the 10th Canto 60th of Srimad Bhagavatam named, "Lord Krishna Teases Queen Rukmini."

The Lord always plays a complete role in all the avatars. Be as Parthasarathi, a dutiful son, a loving husband or a loyal friend, He plays the role immaculately. The Lord decides to play with a great devotee and His beloved wife Queen Rukmini. He playfully asks Her why She wanted to marry the Lord when She had better choices like king Sisupala, Salva, Jarasandha, etc. Hearing this, Queen Rukmini faints and Lord consoles Her. This is the gist of the chapter.

Poonthanam finished reading this part of the chapter and placed the bookmark at the end of the chapter. Next day, to his surprise, he found the bookmark at the beginning of the same chapter. So Poonthanam read the same part for the second time. This was repeated for the rest of the days. It was the last day to close the temple for the year. Poonthanam finished the discourse and was returning from the temple with the other devotees, but somehow left the Bhagavatam in the temple. Having walked some distance, he remembered that he forgot to take the Bhagavatam with him. He hurried back, crossed the river and reached the entrance to the temple, which was closed. He was all alone.

He could hear somebody reciting the same part of the chapter inside the temple. As he looked through the keyhole, he saw Lord Shiva reading from Poonthanam's Bhagavatam. Mother Parvati and other Bhoothaganas were listening, their eyes filled with tears of devotion. Poonthanam stood there and heard the recitation. In the end, Lord Shiva asked Devi Parvati, "Did you like the recitation"?  Parvathi replied, "Yes, it was nice, but was not as good as Poonthanam's".

Lord Shiva replied, "Yes. That is true. I also like to hear Bhagavatam from Poonthanam. That is why I placed the bookmark again and again at the beginning of the same topic every day."

Hearing this, Poonthanam, who stood outside was shaken and uttered the holy name of Krishna loudly. When he watched again, Lord Shiva and Devi Parvati had disappeared.

Srimad Bhagavatam is a peerless purana. It is most dear to the bhaktas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahamsas or liberated souls. It reveals the means for becoming free from all material desires, together with the processes of transcendental knowledge, renunciation and devotion. Anyone who seriously tries to understand Srimad Bhagavatam, who properly hears and chants it with devotion, is completely liberated.

The story of Vishu and Konna poo

Happy Vishu everyone!

There are many stories behind Vishu. But all of them are focused on either Krishna or Vishnu. In Indian astrology, Vishnu is considered as Kaala Purusha, the God of Time. As Vishu marks the first day of this calendar, he is worshipped by Hindus.

Of all the stories about Vishu, one told about a small boy is most famous. Once there lived a Brahmin boy named Unni who was a great devotee of Unni Krishnan (Guruvayurappan). His widow mother brought him up with great difficulties. Every day his mother used to tell him stories of Unni Krishnan and gradually a great desire began to grow inside him – to see Unni Krishnan once. 

He began to pray in the nearby Krishna temple telling him the desire to see him at least once. Krishna’s mind melted and one day he gave ‘darshan’ to Unni in the form of Bala Krishna. Seeing Unni’s innocent love and Bhakthi, he gave his ‘Kaasi waist chain’ made of gold. Kaasi means shape of small coins. Earlier, simplest of all coins was 'kaas'. Unni returned home with great happiness of seeing Unni Krishnan, with the waist chain in his hand.

Next day when Poojari opened the temple, he was shocked to see Murthy’s waist chain (Aranjaanam) missing. News of the theft spread like a forest fire and very soon Unni was caught as a thief. Even though he told the truth crying, no one believed him. In anger, he threw that chain to the nearby tree!

As soon as the waist chain touched the tree branches it changed to yellow flowers closely resembling the golden coins. Seeing this, everyone believed the poor boy’s words.This flower is known as ‘Kanikonna’ or ‘Konna’ in Malayalam and are offered to Krishna as pooja flowers. Surprisingly, through the months from February until April (sometimes in May too), these trees blossom all over Kerala. So, it’s really a spectacular scene to view in Kerala during this season.

Another Version:

During Vishu, yellow flowers called Konna Poo are offered to Lord Krishna while keeping Vishu Kani. These flowers have a story behind it.

In a small village in Kerala, there was a small temple of Sri Krishna. The zamindar of the village had employed a poor thirumeni( priest ) to do the pooja in the temple every morning and evening. The priest used to come to the temple daily with his son who was about 3 years old. While the father used to perform his duties inside the temple, the son used to play in the premises of the temple. In the afternoon the father used to sleep in the verandah of the temple and the boy used to play nearby. With his half closed eyes, he used to watch his son playing. 

The fact was that, Unni Krishnan used to come out of the temple and play with the little boy and so the boy was enjoying and playing. The boy used to play as if he is playing with a group of boys, laughing, screaming, running. This practice followed everyday. 

Once, on the day before Vishu, the father cleaned the entire temple premises. He was very exhausted and slept outside the temple in the verandah. He told his son to play nearby and not to go very far. The boy was playing near his father and that afternoon Unni Krishnan gave his waist belt which was full of golden bells to the boy as the Vishu Kayneetum. The boy was very happy to receive it and he was holding the waist belt and gazing at it.

At that time the zamindar arrived at the temple and he saw the golden waist belt of Krishna in the hands of the boy. He immediately started shouting and called all villagers and declared that the father and son are thieves. He seized the waist belt from the boy's hand. The father started crying and pleading that they are not thieves and have not stolen it. 

At that time, Unni Krishnan, who was watching this drama got very angry. He miraculously caused the waist belt to fly out of the zamindar's hand which fell on a konna tree next to the temple. The golden bells of the waist belt became soft, yellow flowers. These flowers are called as Konna poo which are even now offered to Lord Krishna in the Vishu Kani, because it pleases Lord Krishna and reminds us of his love for the small boy who was very dear to him!