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| Onam, pyramidal image of Onathappan oventales.com |
The annual Onam festival of Kerala which is more than a community event will be incomplete without praying to Onathappan who is the prime character in this mythology. Also referred to as Thrikkakara Appan or Thrikakkarappan, he is god-incarnate, an avatar of one of the Trinity gods in Hinduism - god Mahavishnu who took the guise of a Brahmin sage Vamana and sought ''Biksha'' (alms) in the form of 3 steps or strides of land from Mahabali Raja. Mahabali was an embodiment of charity, just like Karnan in the great epic of Mahabharata in which god Krishna in the guise of a Brahmin saint sought Karnan's ''good deeds'' (punya) and also his kavacha kundalam as gift to save Pandava brother Arjuna from near death to be caused by Karnan).
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A clay pyramidal structure with four or three faces and a flat top symbolizes Thrikkakara Appan or Thrikakkarappan or Vamana. Though some consider that the pyramids represent both King Maveli and Vishnu, for many it is God Vamana. The pyramidal images have both spiritual and mythological connotations. The four faces of the pyramid represent the four stages in the life of a man. Pyramid with 3 faces is widely used and they represent the ''three steps'' of land requested by mendicant Vamana to King Mahabali.
During Onam on the day of Pooradam the people install images of King Mahabali and Lord Vamana at home as a gesture of welcoming Mahabali to all the houses. The clay pyramid-like image placed in the center of Pookalam is also termed as Onathappam. He is decked with flowers and pujas are performed.
On the final day of Onam Keralites give a farewell to king Mahabali and send him back to the pathal loka - nether world, and, at he same time, they take the clay structure (Onathappan) to a near-by water body and immerse him with bhakti and reference as Vamana is god-incarnate. It is said that god sent Mahabali to Vaikunta (heaven) or“Vishnu sayujyam.”
At the famous Thrikakkara temple, near Kochi in Ernakulam District of Kerala Thrikkakarappan is the presiding deity and is closely associated with the Onam myth. Here, one can witness a big sale of the pyramidal clay image of God Vamana who is symbol of Sri Vishnu. Owing to paucity of clay, the price of the Onathappan images have gone up very much. The temple being an important one, lots of devotees in this area buy them to install them at home and in the center of the pookolam. the purpose is to seek their blessings . Immersing the clay images on the final day is a must and it is symbolic of dissolving our negativity, our troubles, evil, thoughts, etc.
High prices have not deterred the buyers in the place to buy the images. Onathappan made of wood and concrete blocks were also available on the market where the source material clay became scarce. People from far off places like Alappuzha and Kottayam came here to buy the images
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Kochi/huge-demand-for-onathappan/article6388248.ece
https://www.flickr.com/photos/babishvb/6129710565
