History of Sree Muthappan and Parassini Madappura
The traditional story of Parassinikadavu Muthappan describes the background of the deity. The Naduvazhi (landlord) Ayyankara Illath Vazhunnavar (a Nambudiri Brahmin) was unhappy, as he had no child. His wife Padikutty Antharjanam was a devotee of Lord Shiva. She made a sacrifice to Shiva for children. One day in her dream she saw the Lord. The very next day, while she was returning after a bath from a near by river, she saw a pretty child lying on a flower bed. She took the child home and she and her husband brought him up as their own son.
The boy used to visit the jungle near their house (mana) for hunting with his bow and arrows. He would then take food to the poor and to the backward communities with him. As these acts were against the Namboothiri way of life, his parents earnestly requested him to stop this practice, but the boy turned a deaf ear to their warnings. Ayyankara Vazhunavar became very disappointed.
One day the boy revealed his divine form (Visvaroopam or Viswaroopa or Cosmic All-Pervading form) to his parents. They then realized that the boy was not an ordinary child but God. They prostrated themselves in front of him and he blessed them. He then started a journey from Ayyankara. The natural beauty of Kunnathoor detained him. He was attracted by the toddy of palm trees.
Chandan (an illiterate and uncivilized toddy tapper) knew that his toddy was being stolen from his palm trees, so he decided to guard his palm trees. While he was keeping guard at night, he caught an old man stealing toddy from his palms. He got very angry and tried to shoot the old man using his bow and arrows but fell unconscious before he could let loose even an arrow.
Chandan's wife came searching for her husband. She cried brokenheartedly when she found him unconscious at the base of the tree. She saw an old man at the top of the palm tree, and called out to him as "MUTHAPPAN" ("Muthappan" means grandfather in the local Malayalam language). She earnestly prayed to the God to save her husband. Before long, Chandan regained consciousness.
She offered boiled grams, slices of coconut, burnt fish and toddy to the Muthappan (Even today in Sree Muthappan temples the devotees are offered boiled grams and slices of coconut). She sought a blessing from him. Muthappan chose Kunnathoor as his residence at the request of Chandan. This is the famous Kunnathoor Padi.
After spending some years at Kunnathoor, Sree Muthappan decided to look for a more favourable residence so that he could achieve his objective of reincarnation. He shot an arrow upward from Kunnathoor. The shaft reached Parassinikadavu where the famous Parassini Madapurra Sree Muthappan Temple stands today. The arrow, when it was found, was glowing in the Theertha (sacred water) near the temple. The arrow was placed on the altar of the temple. Since then, Lord Sree Muthappan has been thought to reside at Parassinikadavu.
