The Thiruvonathoni carrying materials for preparing the Onasadya at Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula set off from the Sree Maha Vishnu Temple ghats in the Pampa at Kattoor, near Ranni, on Sunday evening.
A large number of devotees thronged the temple ghats in the afternoon to witness the customary journey of the Thiruvonathoni to Aranmula that began immediately after the deeparadhana at the Vishnu temple.
M.R. Narayana Bhattathiri of Mangattu Illom in Kottayam escorted the Thiruvonathoni. Tradition has it that the eldest member of Mangattu Illom whose ancestors hailed from Kattoor escort the Thiruvonathoni on the eve of the Thiruvonam day.
The Melsanthi handed over an oil lamp brought from the sanctum sanctorum to Mr. Bhattathiri before it set off from the temple ghats.
The Palliyodams (snakeboats) belonging to the nearby karayogams of Kattoor, Kottathoor, Cherukol, and Edappavoor escorted the decorated vessel to Aranmula.
Provisions, vegetables
As per the custom, 18 families in and around Kattoor village take provisions and vegetables for the Onasadya at Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple.
Legend has it that a Bhattathiri of the Kattoor Madhom on the banks of the Pampa used to offer Onasadya to a Brahmin every Thiruvonam day.
On a particular Thiruvonam day, no Brahmin turned up to accept Bhattathiri’s Onam feast, leaving him in utter distress.
The Bhattathiri prayed in tears to Lord Parthasarathy and a Brahmin boy appeared before him seeking alms.
Bhattathiri treated the boy with high reverence and offered him a sumptuous feast and new clothes (Onakkodi). While bidding goodbye to Bhattathiri, the boy asked him to take the feast to the Aranmula temple from the next year onwards.
Bhattathiri believed that the boy was none other than Lord Parthasarathy and he used to take Onasadya to the Aranmula temple from the next year onwards.
With the passage of time, the family moved from Kattoor and the villagers unfailingly continued the custom for the past several decades. The eldest member of the Bhattathiri family, presently settled in Kottayam, has been leading the Thiruvonathoni procession for the past several years.
Devotees greet Thoni
Devotees thronged the banks of the river, along the Kattoor-Aranmula stretch, in the night to greet the Thiruvonathoni.
They offered betel leaves, areca nuts, tobacco, and cotton shawls as a mark of reverence to the snakeboat crew whom they considered the representatives of the deity.
The Thiruvonathoni will reach the Aranmula temple ghats on Monday morning.