Kochi: Come Onam, the stalled project of the Travancore Dewaswom Board (TDB) to erect a statue of demon king Mahabali on the premises of the state’s only temple dedicated to ‘Lord Vamana’ at Thrikkakkara will be taken up again. Right-wing organisations like the Hindu Aikya Vedi which opposed the project have softened their stand.
The work on the Bali statue based on a painting drawn by a Travancore king will be resumed during Onam, the main festival of the temple.
“We’re setting up a statue of Lord Ayyappa at Pampa and the work on the Bali statue, costing Rs 1 crore, will resume soon after that,” TDB president Padmakumar told DC.
The foundation and ‘Mandapam’ for the statue were completed in 2017. However, further construction was suspended due to stiff opposition from right-wingers like K.P. Sasikala of Hindu Aikya Vedi, who said that Onam should be observed as ‘Vamana Jayanti’ without according much importance to 'Mahabali.'
An article in the RSS magazine ‘Kesari’ too called for the worship of Lord Vishnu through 'Vamana' instead of King 'Mahabali'.
“We opposed the project then due to many reasons. What was the need to set up the statue at a temple dedicated to Lord Vamana? Also there were corruption charges against the project as the estimated cost was much higher than the actual. We no longer oppose the project as the new TDB management has addressed the second issue,” said R.V. Babu, general secretary of the Hindu Aikya Vedi.
Mahabali is the mythical Asuara king famous for his egalitarian regime. Legend has it that the king was sent to the netherworld by Vamana, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, through an act of treachery. The idol at the temple is in the form of ‘Lord Vamana’ preparing to place his foot on the ‘Asura’ King.
