Mangalorean's young and old must have heard about the heroics of Koti-Chennaya through folklore, ballads and Tulu epic of the same name. But most of the present generation of Mangaloreans born or brought up outside and abroad may not be aware about the stories of these legendary twins. Koti and Chennaya are legendary twin brothers who are still revered in this land of the Tuluvas. The story of these heroes dates back to around 500 years; somewhere in the 1556 - 1591 AD. The valiant twin brothers were also known as Karnika Purushas.
As per the legend, Koti and Chennaya were born to Deye Baidethi from
the Billawa community of Tulu nadu, South Kanara in Karnataka. Due to their heroic
deeds and fight for social equality, they are revered and remembered as
protectors of the land. They died fighting near Enmoor. Their Samadhi still stands there. Temples in their memory, called Garodi which doubles up as gymnasiums
have been built in their name all over Tulu land. Once every year, festival
called Nema is celebrated in the Garodis where the villagers assemble to pray
for their well-being………..
As per the legend, King Perumal
Ballal ruled Padumale. The king had an ambition to build a big palace which
would exhibit his glory even after his death. A long search began and the king
selected Mallaya, known for his intelligence and wisdom. Mallaya, as promised,
built a magnificent palace as per the desire of the king. Impressed by his work
the king, Perumal Ballal conferred on him a title of Budiyanta, which means,
intelligent and a man of wisdom. He also made him a minister, and slowly Budiyanta
took over complete charge of the kingdom. The king withdrew himself from
day-to-day affairs and delegated power to Budhiyanta. He misused his power and,
was a dreaded and an arrogant minister, oppressing the subjects of the land.
His influence was clearly visible all over the kingdom.
One afternoon, while relaxing
Perumal Ballal had a bad dream. He sought for an explanation of this dream.
Bira Balyaya, the soothsayer explained that if he did not perform the rituals
performed by his ancestors, it would be a bad omen for his land. The king after
performing the rituals went on a hunt. While returning from the hunt, a thorn
pierced his foot and nothing would stop the bleeding. On reaching the palace,
his foot was swollen with intense pain. No treatment or medicine could heal the
wound or the pain. The king knowing about her reputation in herbal cure, ordered
for Deye Baideti to be summoned. Deye specialized in Ayurveda and was Vaidya by
family tradition. As she was pregnant, the king arranged to bring her in a
royal palanquin.
The story of Deye Baideti – Pijinar, an issue-less Brahmin would
go to the seashore every day to offer prayers to the almighty. One day to his
surprise, a gold-colour egg-shaped large object floated towards him. He carried
it home. He and his wife opened the egg-shaped object to find a female child
with glowing skin. Pijinar named the girl Suvarna Kedage. She grew up to be a
beautiful young girl. She attained puberty at an early age of seven. According
to ancient tradition and social custom prevailing in those days; if a girl
attained puberty before her marriage, she was abandoned by the family and
society.
Adhering to the pressure of this custom, the
sad Pijinar took Suvarna Kedage to Sankamale forest. While they rested and as
she fell asleep, he removed her gold ornaments and clothes, left her alone in
the forest. Sayana Baida, a Vaidya by profession was walking through the forest
in search of medicinal herbs. On hearing the cries of this abandoned girl, he
rushed towards her, she was shocked and terrified. Overwhelmed with compassion
for the poor girl, he treated her as his sister and took her home. Sayana Baida
named the girl, as Deye in memory of his late sister. His sister had married to
Kantana Baida, and had a daughter named Kinnidaru. Suvarna Kedage, now known as
Deye Baideti, under the guidance of Sayana Baida, became an expert in the
preparation of Ayurvedic medicine. She was married to Kantana Baida, but they
did not have marital relations as he looked at her in adoration. As per the
legend, she prayed to Kemmalaje Nagabrahma and she was blessed. She became
pregnant by divine grace while bathing in the lake.
As Deye reached the palace of
king Perumal Ballal; the king promised her that he would give her anything she
asked for if she could cure him of the wound and pain. Deye commenced the
herbal treatment. The king recovered and was back to normal good health. Deye
asked the king permission to leave and reminded him politely about his promise.
The ungrateful king denied having made any such promise. Deye quietly left the
palace wondering about the ungrateful behavior of the king. As she proceeded to
depart, the king’s wound opened up. Immediately he ordered his queen to bring
back Deye. The queen requested and pleaded with Deye to save her husband’s
life. Deye returned to treat the king once again. The king felt ashamed at his
ungrateful behavior and requested her to forgive. The wound healed and there
was rejoicing in the palace on hearing about the king’s good health.
Later Deye delivered twins, two
boys and the king named the siblings Koti (Sun) and Chennaya (Moon). Their
horoscopes predicted the twins would bring name and fame to their land. Just
after the naming ceremony, Deye died and left for the heavenly abode. Perumal Ballal
was overcome with grief at the sudden demise of Deye who came to him as a god
in disguise to cure his life-threatening wound. He arranged for a state
funeral. The king asked Kantana Baida and Sayana Baida to leave Devi’s children
in the palace as it would be difficult for both of them to take care of the new
born twins. They acceded to the king’s request and returned home. Over the years, they anxiously waited for the
day Koti and Chennaya would be big enough to be taken home.
Meanwhile the twins became the
center of attraction and affection of everyone in the palace. The king treated
them as his own children and they were happy to be in his company. The king’s
growing affection towards the twins made Budhiyanta jealous, and he feared
someday the boys would overshadow him, and thereby lose his prominence. He
succeeded in inciting the queen against the boys. She pursued the king to send
the boys back home. Budiyantha’s plan worked, and finally one day the king
beckoned Sayana Baida and handed over the custody of the boys to him as their
father Kantana had died. The king told Sayana to admit them to a gymnasium and
train them in archery and martial skills; and promised Sayana to take care of
all their needs including milk, food and clothing. They left the palace and
were warmly welcomed by the Baida community.
The twins loved sports and once
when they were around seven, they saw some children playing with a ball. They
happened to be Budhiyanta’s children. Koti and Chennya requested them to allow
them to participate in the game, but Budhiyanta’s arrogant children refused to
allow them to play as they were from a different caste. The twins argued to
make them understand that the caste system had nothing to do with children’s
play. And Budhiyant’s children relented and agreed to play on a condition that
whoever won would keep the ball. The well-built Koti and Chennaya won and
gathered the ball as agreed. However Budhiyanta’s children cried aloud. Budhiyanta
who was in the field nearby inquired about the reason for crying aloud. Taking his
children’s side, Budhiyanta scolded the twins and snatched the ball from them.
Furious at his behavior, the twins vowed to take back the ball when they grew up.
This incident sowed the seed of hatred for Budhiyanta in the hearts of the
twins.
The boys joined the Garodi for
extensive training in body building, archery and fencing. Soon they were
popular for their bravery and courage in martial skills and combat. The
fearless boys became the talk of the town. Now grown-up, Koti and Chennaya longed to meet the king Perumal Ballal. They visited the king with a large
number of followers in a procession with horses and music. The king received
them with great love and affection. They presented the king with a gift. As
Budhiyanta was not offered a gift, he was annoyed and left in a huff. On the
king’s advice, Koti-Chennaya visited Budhiyanta’s home with a gift. Though his
ego was satisfied by making the twins come to his house with the gift, he made them wait intentionally for a long time ignoring their presence. Tired of waiting, the
irritated twins left the place and their hatred for him increased.
As Koti-Chennaya’s fame spread
across the kingdom. People looked at them with respect. The king was proud of
them for their bravery and martial skills. Budhiyanta was upset and jealous
about their fame and popularity. Meanwhile the king decided to give them a plot
of land for cultivation. Budhiyanta could not imagine sharing the land with the
twins. This enhanced his hatred for them. And his mind was occupied with evil
thoughts of teaching the twins a lesson and driving them out.
Kambala is a traditional buffalo
race in muddy waters run on the fields before the harvesting season. One day as
Budhiyanta was on his way to consult the astrologer for the date for the
Kambala event, he happened to pass the twins’ house. Koti requested him to also
get a date for him too, and handed over a coconut to be presented to the
astrologer. Budhiyanta agreed to his request, but in disgust broke the coconut
on the way to the astrologer’s house.
Some local boys noticed him
breaking the coconut and drinking the water. They informed Koti-Chennaya about
this incident. On returning, Budhiyanta told Koti-Chennaya about the date which
fell on amawasya or new moon day. Realizing Budhiyanta’s evil intentions,
Koti-Chennaya quietly planned their Kambala on the same day as Budhiyanta’s.
They invited everyone to participate in the event. He informed people having
four buffaloes, to send two to them and the other two to Budhiyanta. Those
having two buffaloes were given a choice to send it to either the twins or Budhiyanta.
On the day of the Kambala, Koti-Chennya received tremendous response from the
people and Budhiyanta was left dejected with only his own buffaloes in his
field. Koti-Chennaya sent four buffaloes to him and Budhiyanta felt this as a
humiliation and beat the buffaloes in anger.
Upset by
the humiliation, Budhiyanta, as a revenge; few days later drained the excess
water from his field to Koti-Chennaya’s field, destroying their crops. Koti,
annoyed, went to Budhiyanta and asked for an explanation for his cowardly act.
Budhiyanta arrogantly replied that that he knew more about cultivation than the
young twins. He abused Koti for his guts to question him, a minister of the
king. On hearing this, Chennaya was furious and confronted him. He ran after
him with a sword in his hands. Budhiyanta sensing grave danger ran for his
life, but Chennaya pulled him down. The twins attacked and killed him.
Recalling their words during childhood, they went to his house and grabbed the
ball. The news of Budhiyanta’s death spread like fire. People heaved a sigh of
relief as they were free from his tyranny. Koti and Chennaya were hailed by the
people for freeing them from Budhiyanta’s oppression.
Also read: Koti & Chennaya Part 2
MyPost
Army
Day
In
India, Army Day is celebrated on 15 January every year. On January 15, 1949,
the command of the Indian army was handed over from Gen Sir Francis Butcher to
Lieutenant General KM Cariappa. Army Day marks the transfer of power from the
British to Independent India, an important event in Indian history.
The
Day is marked by a display of military strength at the Cariappa Parade ground
in Delhi cantonment. The parade showcases various routines such as aerial
stunts and bike pyramids. Bravery awards such as unit credentials and Sena
medals are also presented to deserving personnel.
According
to Global Firepower Estimates, India has the second largest military manpower
in the world. As of 2019, total available active military manpower is 13,62,500
personnel.
............................................................................................................................
Picture Post:
 |
| Golden Temple at Amritsar, Punjab,India |
...............................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
‘What I love about this book is that the author states with
all humility that the subject is based on the Bharata’s episode in Ramayana,
but has articulated and sequenced them after
studying the great epic very holy
to the Hindus.’
-Harper Frank
Bharata, My Brother
- Anil Kumar Naik
Foreword by Shri Asaranna Swami
of Durga
Parmeshwari Temple,Kateel, SK
Rs 200 + 30 P&F(India)
Parmeshwari Temple,Kateel, SK
Rs 200 + 30 P&F(India)
......................................................................................................................
*Your comments are welcome. We value them, to make the blog better.
*Guest writers are welcome. Tell us about the subject. Get in touch.
*Please share this blog Tata CLiQ Store
.........................................................................................................................*Please share this blog Tata CLiQ Store
https://youtube.com/channel/UCwo9Re44827w8c6QPmxlnug
Anil
Naik - YouTube Channel
Please like, comment and Subscribe. Kama Ayurveda
.........................................................................................................................
Aneela Nike Post
..........................................................................................................................
Aneela Nike Post
Anil Naik
WhatsApp: 91 9969154602
Email: akn929@yahoo.com
Email: akn929@yahoo.com
..........................................................................................................................
If
you feel that Aneela Nike Post is making a difference to your life, do take a
minute to consider a comment or contribution. We would also value your
suggestions as how to make ourselves more relevant to you. Please write to akn929@yahoo.com to give your
valuable feedback.
