In Ponnivala
every key character is given a life story, including some kind of magical birth and some kind of honourable end-of-life event as
well. Each birth story and each death is different, but all have mythological or fairytale
underpinnings (depending on your perspective in these matters). This
common thread can be seen in the stories provided for both
grandparents, for both parents, and also for all three of the farming
grandchildren, the triplets that dominate the story in the third
generation.
The twin farmer-kings experience a magical birth and a
heroic, magical death. This
same generalization also applies to the little sister, Tangal,
even though technically she “ascends to heaven in a golden
chariot.” She, too, undergoes a life-ending experience, even
though she never really dies.
I point to this magical birth and death predictability for all
key farmers precisely because this pattern does not hold for
even one of the several Vettuva characters described by the same
story.
Some might argue that only
the heroes, the Vellalar farmers, are honoured with descriptions of
their supernatural birth and death events. But the opposite framing
of this “difference” makes for an even more interesting
interpretation. The Vettuvas are just “naturally” there. If one
reads between the lines, they always have been and always will be the
earth’s natural beings, the living entities closest to some kind of
cosmic energy that simply “is.”
Yes, some Vettuvas (men only) do
die in battle with the farmers. But are these “real” human
beings or are they rather manifestations of some kind of divine play
on the part of the great Hindu divinity, Lord Vishnu? Again a
specific series of three separate incidents are seen to lead to a
very key outcome.
That outcome
will be the heroes’ own deaths. There is no need to “kill”
Vettuvas. They will always be there and they will always be fierce
and proud
Vishnu’s Intervention #1:
It is time to mention a very significant sequence of three scenes.
The first of these is the symbolic moment where Lord Vishnu is seen
leading the Vettuva fighters into battle. He tells these men, “come
with me.” He promises to lead them himself. What a
stunning moment! This great god is no longer backing the farmers.
He has switched sides and now leads the farmers’ enemies into a battle that ends in the Ponnivala heroes’ deaths. The
point is not so much to “kill” the Vettuvas as it is to show that
the Ponnivala farmers die heroically on their own swords and of their
own will.
Vishnu’s Intervention #2:
The matter of Vishnu’s intent, as it is revealed to story listeners
towards the end of this great epic, is clarified further by two
ensuing events. There is a stunning revelation that occurs very near
the end of the story, in the middle of the key battle between the
Vettuvas and the farmers. This is the moment when Lord Vishnu is
seen creating a huge horde of Vettuvas simply by raising his own
right hand. These magically created fighters rush onto the
battlefield, only to be quickly killed by the twin heroes and
their assistant, Shambuga. What is more significant
is that the story makes it clear this whole event, and perhaps the
whole war, is actually brought on by Lord Vishnu. It is
his
lila (a kind of divine play). Through this act Lord
Vishnu intends to make the twin heroes understand that their own lives will come to an end very soon.
Vishnu is definitely not creating fighters from his raised hand in
order to send a signal to the Vettuvas that they will soon be
eradicated. Quite the opposite. Vishnu is showing the heroes (the
only ones who see this magical action take place) that he can create
Vettuvas at any time and they will keep coming and coming, forever!
He is telling the heroes that there is no point in fighting on. They
must simply make a heroic effort so that they end their lives
honorably.
Whether all the magically
created Vettuva fighters, who are never named and who behave like
one big horde, actually die or not is not very clearly stated. The
heroes THINK they have defeated all these men, but they are also very
tired. They are eager to quit and wash their swords. Lord Vishnu
has encouraged them in this, telling the twins that before they quit
they just have to fight for “a few more minutes.”
Vishnu’s Intervention #3:
After fighting for a little longer the heroes THINK there are
no more Vettuvas around. They are very tired, though unhurt, and
they go to wash their bloody swords in a nearby river. While
standing in the water a flowered arrow suddenly crosses the younger
twin’s chest and carries off his protective thread. The arrow has
been shot by Lord Vishnu as he sits on a tree branch just above the
flowing water where they stand. Shankar, the twin who has lost his
thread immediately understands. He now turns to his brother and
says: “This is Lord Vishnu’s signal to us that we must now take
our own lives.” The elder twin concurs and they leave the water
and climb up to the top of a small hillock nearby. There they throw
their swords hilt first, into the ground where each weapon solidly
embeds itself, with its sharp blade point reaching upwards towards
the sky.
Then the two heroes run
forward and with a leap position their bodies so that their swords penetrate their hearts. Vishnu’s purpose has been fulfilled
and his mission as guardian of their predetermined 16 years of life
on earth has now been completed. Vishnu himself now appears on the
dying ground where the heroes’ bodies lie. He takes the
souls of the two men (and of their loyal assistant Shambuga who dies
by their sides) and carries these in a special little golden box.
The Preserver and Protector, Vishnu then quickly flies upward to
Lord Shiva’s Council Chambers with his precious cargo.
A word must also be said about the twin heroes' little sister Tangal. She learns of her brothers’ deaths through signs they have left her in her palace.
Distressed at the terrible news, Tangal subsequently burns down the
family palace and also the separate abode that belongs to her
brothers’ wives. After those fires there is a great rain.
Ponnivala is reduced to ashes first, and then to swampy nothingness.
I'll skip some further events in order to stress the key point of this
essay. The end of the story speaks about potential regeneration, but
NOT the regeneration of the heroes’ own family. These men and
their family line are gone forever. But most significantly, there is
no parallel destruction of the forest or of the Vettuvas’ family
line. This community, these people, are just “naturally” there forever. To them goes a special kind of honor, the honor of being
both “first humans” and also an indestructible class of people
that reside on earth “forever.” Who can top that?
[<==Back to Part 2]
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