Having spent my formative years in Kerala, two festivals were always close to my heart: Onam and Vishu.
While Vishu marks the astrological new year, Onam is the grander celebration across the state. I grew up arranging floral carpets (pookkalam) meant to welcome Mahabali, the legendary “king of Kerala.” Even as a child, I had questions about his story. Who was Mahabali really? And why did he return every year?

Onam and the legend of Mahabali

For the benefit of non-Keralites, let me narrate the story behind Onam, that every Keralite learns even in schools. According to legend, King Mahabali ruled over Kerala once upon a time. He was a wise and just ruler who loved his people so much that his reign was called a golden age.

But his growing power worried the Devas. To curb it, Lord Vishnu took his Vamana avatar – appearing as a dwarf Brahmin. Vamana asked Mahabali for three paces of land. The generous king agreed. Vamana then grew into a giant, covering the earth and sky in two strides. With no space left, Mahabali offered his own head for the third step. Vishnu pressed him down to the netherworld but granted him a boon: to visit his beloved people once every year.

Onam marks this annual visit of Mahabali – a time when Kerala decks up with floral carpets (Pookkalam), feasts (Onam Sadhya), boat races (Vallamkali), and dances. The first emotion that anybody who reads the above feel, is one of anger. I mean, why would Vishnu do something so wicked against such a benevolent, just ruler?

The story above might also seem eerily similar to what is mentioned in Vamana Purana, with a few changes. Let’s examine the story of Vamana Purana.

Our epics are filled with stories of battles between the Devas, the symbolism of Dharma and Asuras, the symbolism of Adharma. Vamana Purana talks about how the Devas became all-powerful after consuming Amrit, and defeated the asura king Bali.

Bali, as advised by his Guru Shukracharya, performs a Yagya, gains special powers and then proceeds to defeat the Devas, to become the undisputed ruler of the entire universe. Shukracharya also advises Bali to take special care of the Brahmins and the poor.

The Devas approach Maha Vishnu. To restore balance, Vishnu incarnates as Vamana, a radiant dwarf Brahmachari. During Mahabali’s solemn yajna -where he had vowed never to refuse a request-Vamana appears, holding a wooden umbrella.

“What do you desire, little one?” asks Mahabali.

“I ask only for three steps of land,” replies Vamana.

Though warned by Sukrscarya, Mahabali decides to honor his vow. In that moment, Vamana reveals his cosmic form-Trivikrama, vast as the universe. With his first step, he covers the earth. With the second, he spans the heavens. With no space left, Mahabali bows his head: “Place your final step upon me.”

Vishnu did so, sending him to the netherworld, not as punishment, but as grace. Mahabali was granted Sutala, to rule under Vishnu’s protection, earning eternal honor. Now let’s try and explore a few questions related to Vamana Avatar and the Onam celebration.

Contradiction 1: Did Mahabali really rule Kerala?

While the Puranas don’t identify Mahabali as a ruler of Kerala, various regions across India-Ballia, Mahabaleshwar, Mahabalipuram-have linked him to their own sacred geography. Bharuch and Bali’s Yajna on the Narmada Ancient Bharuch, known in sacred lore as Bhrigukaccha, is traditionally linked to King Bali’s legendary Ashvamedha Yajna.

According to the Bhagavata Puraṇa, Bali performed this grand ritual on the northern bank of the Narmada River, where Vishnu’s Vamana avatar approached him in his Brahmachari form. The site’s spiritual legacy, tied to both sage Bhrigu and Vaishnava lore, makes Bharuch a compelling candidate in the geographic tapestry of Bali’s kingdom.

His yajna, the defining moment of his encounter with Vamana, is placed in western India, not the southern coast. The association of Mahabali with Kerala, therefore, is not a Puranic fact. So on a lighter note, Mahabali could not have been a Malayalee and in fact he might just have been a Gujarati.

Contradiction 2: The Legend of Kerala’s Creation

Whoever came up with the idea that Mahabali ruled Kerala seems to have forgotten a few facts related to the origin of Kerala. According to Kerala’s own sacred lore, it was Parashurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu, who created the land of Kerala by throwing his axe into the sea.

This act of land reclamation is described in “Keralolpathi”, a 16th–17th century regional chronicle, and echoed in the Skanda Purana, where Parashurama distributes the newly formed land to Brahmins.

So here’s the paradox: if Mahabali was subjugated by Vamana, the fifth avatar, how could he have ruled Kerala, a land that, according to tradition, didn’t even exist until Parashurama, the sixth avatar, created it?

Contradiction 3: Kerala in Sangam Literature Vs Mahabali Myth

While Onam is celebrated today as Kerala’s harvest festival honoring King Mahabali and Vishnu’s Vamana avatar, its earliest literary echoes may lie in Tamil Sangam literature, particularly in Maduraikanchi, a 3rd-century CE poem by Mangudi Marudhanar.

The poem vividly describes a grand festival in Madurai, featuring celebrations of Mayon (Vishnu), temple rituals, elephant processions, and people wearing new clothes and exchanging gifts, hallmarks of Onam even today. Though the poem doesn’t mention Mahabali or Vamana, scholars interpret its festive imagery as a precursor to Onam, suggesting that such Vishnu-centered seasonal celebrations may have originated in Tamilakam, before becoming deeply rooted in Malayali culture. This opens up fascinating possibilities about Onam’s pan-South Indian origins, where Tamil and Malayalam traditions once flowed from a shared cultural river.

Contradiction 4: Bali’s Annual Visit and Onam

Balipratipada marks King Mahabali’s yearly return to Earth, a boon granted by Vishnu after the Vamana avatar. Celebrated on the first day of Kartika Shukla Paksha, it usually falls in October or November, right after Diwali. The observance has scriptural roots in Puranas like the Brahma and Kurma, and dates back to ancient Indian ritual culture.

Today, it’s widely celebrated in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and parts of North India, often as Bali Padwa, Bali Padyami, or the Gujarati New Year (Bestu Varas) In short, the idea that Mahabali returns annually during Onam has no scriptural foundation. In other words, there is no connection between Onam and Bali’s annual visit.

Contradiction 5: Onam and Vamana Jayanti – The Connection

Over the last few decades, there have been efforts from various quarters of society to delink Onam from Hinduism. In fact, any mention of Vamana or Mahavishnu in relation to Onam these days could even get you labelled as an ‘anti-secular communal.’

In Hindu tradition, Lord Vamana, the fifth avatar of Vishnu, is believed to have been born under the Shravana Nakshatra, a specific lunar constellation used in the Vedic calendar system. In South Indian calendars, especially in Tamil and Malayalam, this same star is known as Thiruvonam. Shravana/Thiruvonam is considered sacred and is ruled by Vishnu himself. It’s deeply revered in Vaishnava tradition, especially as the birth star of Vamana.

In other words, Onam, celebrated in Kerala on the day of Thiruvonam, aligns with the birth star of Vamana. This celestial timing reinforces the spiritual depth of Onam, linking it to Vamana’s divine incarnation and the restoration of cosmic balance, and certainly not to Bali’s annual visit to Kerala. For auspicious festivals like Vamana Jayanti, the date is determined by tithi (lunar phase), not nakshatra (star alignment). So while Thiruvonam marks the Shravana nakshatra, Vamana Jayanti this year falls on September 4th, based on the Dwadashi tithi of Shukla Paksha in Bhadrapada.

Contradiction 6: Kerala’s Thrikkakara Temple Worships Vamana, Not Mahabali

At the heart of Kerala’s Onam celebrations stands the Thrikkakara Vamana Moorthy Temple, one of the few temples in India dedicated to Lord Vishnu in his Vamana form. During the ten-day Onam festival, beginning with Atham and culminating on Thiruvonam, the temple becomes a vibrant center of devotion and ritual.

The main puja on Thiruvonam day honors Thrikkakara Appan, the presiding deity, who is none other than Vamana. Across Kerala, similar pujas are performed in Vamana temples and households, reinforcing Onam’s deep roots in Vaishnava tradition and its alignment with Vamana Jayanti. Despite efforts to detach the festival from Hinduism, Onam’s deep-rooted connections to Sanatana Dharma, ancient Bharat, Mahavishnu, and the Puranic tradition therefore remain unmistakable.

Finally, here are a few more contradictions in the legend of Onam and Mahabali’s supposed annual visit to Kerala.

1. Pot-Bellied Mahabali: In the Puranas, King Mahabali is portrayed as a figure of great physical strength and regal dignity, a true embodiment of the ideal Asura king. The Mahabali associated with Onam is a comical figure with a large belly and cheerful demeanor (see the depiction) He clearly does not look like someone with great physical strength. And ironically, the one who’s actually described as pot-bellied in traditional iconography is Vamana himself.

2. Mahabali’s Umbrella: Mahabali is seen visiting Kerala with “pattakkuda”- a traditional palm-leaf umbrella. Have you ever seen any depiction of ancient kings walking around, carrying such wooden umbrellas? Or do we find such umbrellas being carried by Brahmacharis? Did someone replace Vamana with Mahabali intentionally?

3. Maaveli Naadu Vaaneedum Kaalam: One of the earliest documented literary references to Onam in connection with Mahabali’s rule over Kerala dates back to less than a century ago, when social reformer Sahodaran Ayyappan published the poem “Maaveli Naadu Vaaneeum Kaalam” in 1934.

Kerala has produced towering literary figures such as Thunchaththu Ezhuthachan, the father of modern Malayalam literature, along with Cherusseri, Poonthanam and several others. Yet, strikingly, none of them wrote about Mahabali ruling Kerala or making an annual return during Onam. This conspicuous silence in centuries of classical literature strongly suggests that the idea of Bali’s yearly visit is not an ancient truth, but a later legend superimposed onto the festival.

4. No Historical Records or Travelogues: Based on available historical records and travelogues from European, Arab, and Chinese visitors to Kerala, there is no documented mention of Onam as a festival celebrating Mahabali’s annual return.

5. There are plenty of Vamana murthy temples in Kerala. However, there is no Mahabali temple in Kerala.

6. There is no family in Kerala that claims to be the descendants of Mahabali.

7. There is no place in Kerala, that is connected to the legend of Mahabali as per Puranas.

It’s clear from all of the above that Onam is, at its core, Vamana Jayanti in disguise. Mahavishnu incarnated as Vamana to restore cosmic balance – but the popular legend flips the narrative. Whoever crafted this reinterpretation achieved two things: They stripped Onam, a harvest festival with deep Sanatana roots, of its scriptural foundation. They recast Vamana, an avatar of Vishnu, as a villain, and Mahabali, the asura he subdued, as the hero.

You might be amused to read that some leftist thinkers in Kerala now describe Mahabali as a Buddhist egalitarian king, and even call him “Comrade Mahabali”. And no, that’s not satire.

In a time when many Hindus have little exposure to their own scriptures, these modern overlays are accepted without question. And so, the avatar who upheld dharma is sidelined, while the one he humbled is celebrated as the symbol of Onam. This Onam, let’s celebrate Mahabali, the just ruler and devotee of Mahavishnu, and also honor Vamana’s divine birth on the same day. Wishing you all a joyful Onam and a blessed Vamana Jayanti.