An ancient ritualistic performance that has been conducted for over 4,000 years in India is set to be performed once again in a remote village in
Kerala this April.
The 'Athirathram' ritual which literally means
'building up of the fireplace and performed overnight' and usually held to propagate universal peace and harmony, is scheduled to be held in Kerala's Panjal village, where it was
first documented 35 years ago by US-based Indologist Frits Staal.
Staal, currently Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and South and Southeast Asian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley had in 1975 organised and recorded the ritual in detail with the help of grants and donations from
the Universities of Havard, Berkely and Finland's Helsinki University.
"When we were children we had listened to and read about the ritual in newspapers. It had attracted a lot of attention among the common people in villages and cites," says Neelkantan Pillai, a member of the newly-formed Varthathe
Trust, which has taken the initiative in reviving the ritual that emerged around the 10th century BC and was practiced until the 6th century BC.
In post-Vedic times, there were various revivals of the practice, under the Gupta and Chola empire and by the 11th century, the ritual was kept alive by the Namboodiris of Kerala.
"With advanced recording instruments availible now, it has become easy to document the ritualistic performance and preserve it for study and also as a record for the younger generation who have not seen something like this," says
Pillai.
The ritualistic practice, a sort of a yagna, that is expected to conclude within 12 days including a day and night sitting on the last day, would be performed using traditional raw materials -bricks and wooden utensils- and in exactly the same way that it was conducted over the centuries.
"The fire which is used to light the ritual will be prepared by rubbing together stones, wooden blocks in the shape of a bird would be used for the altar and around 1,200 different types of bricks are expected to be used," says
Pillai.
Sivakaran Namboothiri, one of the overseers of the ritual, and part of the nine-member Varthathe Trust says," Athirathram is relevant in today's discontent, violent and strife-torn world. It will help to promote universal harmony,
peace, solidarity, prosperity and spiritual enlightenment."
"There has been one such ritual in Maharashtra around 10 to 12 years ago as also another one, a shorter version was conducted some place in Uttar Pradesh a while ago," says
Namboothiri who had participated in the ritual conducted by Frits Staal.
Meanwhile, Staal who had spent a year in Panjal in 1975 supervising the preparations and studying the effects of the ritual and documented the entire ritual including its melodic chants had described it in his two-volume book "Agni".
"While pyramids, temples, cathedrals, and skyscrapers were built and fell into decay, languages and religions came and went, and innumerable wars were fought, the vedas and
their ritual continued to be transmitted by word of mouth, from teacher to pupil, and from father to son.
"What a triumph of human spirit over the limitations of matter and the physical body," wrote the Indologist.
Staal, now over 77 years old, is expected to travel to Kerala and observe the performance of the 'Athirathram'.
"Even though he will not be actively involved, he will
be present to observe," says a representative of the Trust which estimates the total expense for the event to touch Rs one crore that will be funded through donations.
At the end of the performance all raw materials used, such as the wood, mud, bamboo, etc is expected to be set on fire and the ash be distributed to onlookers as offering.