Naranathu Bhranthan(The Madman of Naranam)
Soorya
Folklore says : "Vararuchi, one of the nine wise men of King Vikramaditya’s court married a girl from Paraya caste which is one of the lowest castes among the society of Kerala. They started a pilgrimage and on the way one-after-another, they had 12 children.Parayi Petta Panthirukulam, is a malayalam phase and it translates to "Twelve Kulams Borne of a Pariah Woman".Each time upon delivery, Vararuchi asked her if the baby had a mouth. If she said ‘yes’, he would say, “If God has given a mouth, it will feed his mouth too” and would ask her to leave the child there and then proceed. Grieved by these, when the 12th child was born, she lied and said the baby did not have a mouth, upon which he permitted her to take the child along. But when she was about to breast-feed it, the mouth was actually not there!!
Vararuchi then consecrated the child on a hill, which is called “Vaayillaakkunnilappan”
The children left out in the forest were subsequently found, adopted and raised by families belonging to different communities, recognised one another as they grew up, and used to get-together at the illam (residence) of the eldest son, Mezhathol Agnihothri, on their father Vararuchi’s death anniversary (Sraadham) - so goes the story or myth. Each of these 12 tribes / families still exists in Kerala and they used to get-together too.
Naranathu Branthan :
One day a man from his village inquired him why people call him Bhranthan - an insane. He replied "I know me very well. So I am accepting whatever they call me, as it doesn't change who I am. But many around me, who are more insane than me are not admitting that. That is the only difference between others and me."
Naranath Bhranthan's most favorite pastime was rolling a big stone to the top of the nearby hill. The stone was so big and the hill so steep that, when he push up the stone one foot up, the stone will come two feet down.
But he will not stop his effort. Actually it was a terrible sight for anybody to watch. He will try again and again. In this effort, sometimes he also will roll down along with the stone. Some other times the stone will roll down over him. His cloth will get torn off and blood will begin to come out from the lacerations all over his body. But he will continue his efforts without showing any pain. After several hours of effort, by the end of the day, he will succeed in his task and will be able to take the stone up to the top of the hill.
People will be watching curiously at what he is going to do with the big stone at the top of the hill. But to the surprise of all, without waiting for a moment to enjoy the fruit of his hard labor, he will kick down the stone and start laughing loudly clapping his hands.
There are several philosophical interpretations about what Naranath Bhranthan was trying to say to his fellow beings through this gesture. Some people say that, this is his way of ridiculing, the human nature of working very hard from dawn until dusk for today thinking that they could enjoy tomorrow, which may never arrive. All this time they are unaware of the looming death (stone rolling down the hill) which is the only certainty in anyone's life. He may be also trying to say how hard it is to climb up in life, while how easy it is to go down and perish.
Regards,
Soorya
Sathish Kumar Emmadi
"Sometimes naked, sometimes mad,
Now as a scholar, again as a fool,
Here a rebel, there a saint,
Thus they appear on the earth, the
Paramahamsas." -- Viveka Choodamani. This is taken from The master as I saw him.
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SWADHYAYA PRAVACHANABHYAM NA PRAMADITAVYAM
{Be not negligent about the study and exposition of scriptures. - Taittriya Upanishad}
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Thanks & Regards,
Sathish