Episode 23: The Enemy Confronted

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we've laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher's Handbook.

A wild boar goes on a rampage and tears up the beautiful rice fields of Ponnivala. It then challenges the ruling brothers to war. They take the bait and prepare for battle. A huge war drum is readied and offerings are given to keep the local demons at bay. The rulers’ sister expresses doubts but the two men are determined to proceed with their hunt.

A Huge Wild Boar Destroys The Farmer’s Fine Crops

Now the end game begins. A great wild boar, pet of the hunters' little sister, is destined to attack the heroes and their fertile lands. He sets out and on three successive nights he systematically destroys the heroes' rice fields, sugarcane crop and finally, the palace flower garden. A gardener picking flowers for morning offerings at the local goddess’ temple is the first to see all this terrible destruction. He is distraught, but still he hopes to collect the few flowers that remain visible. The great boar, which has now disguised himself as a large black rock, feels the gardener’s weight on his back as he climbs on it to pick an especially pretty little bloom.

The Wild Forest Boar Sends A Challenge To the Farmer Kings

The great boar now jumps up. He begins to intimidate the gardener and bully him. Finally the gardener is asked to roll in the mud so that his body is caked with dirt. Then he is told by the boar to turn his back so that the huge creature can write a message on it with his right tusk. The text is to be taken by the gardener to the palace of the two farmer kings. As the memo is scripted the message gradually becomes clear. It reads (as voiced by the boar) "Come challenge me in the forest within three days or die." It is signed with the well-known name of this challenger: “King Komban.” When the heroes receive this message they quickly prepare for war.

The Sister Foresees Disaster But Fears To Speak Out

The two brothers read the message and decide that they must go to war against the great boar right away. But the sister first wants her brothers to undergo a magical "test." She will throw mustard seeds in the air in front of the family temple. They are to split every one of them in half before these little grains can fall to the ground. After this amazing feat the sister inspects the cloth the seeds have fallen on. One seed is left unsplit split after the test. This is a sign that disaster looms, but by now the two brothers are fully committed to their war against the boar. The sister is unhappy. That one unsplit seed is a sign that their mission will fail. But she can not bring herself to tell them this terrible news.

The Heroes’ Ritual Preparations For War Are Completed

The great war drum is now raised from its storage place at the bottom of the irrigation tank. It is re-covered with fresh leather and a huge feast is offered to the demons of the underworld. Soon the drum is beaten and a deep "toom toom" sound can be heard throughout the kingdom.

Episode 21: A Kidnapping Spree

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we've laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher's Handbook.

Two brothers who rule Ponnivala set off on a parrot hunt with their talented First Minister. In a neighboring forest the group are met with an onslaught of tigers and cobras. Conquering these, the men capture a female parrot. But bird’s husband escapes and complains to the forest Princess whose brothers capture a Ponnivala palace maid in revenge.

The Heroes Break Several Magical Barriers

The hunters’ sister suspects that her beloved parrots are in danger. So she sets up several barriers along the forest path leading to their nesting site, to prevent their capture. She creates an ambush of one thousand tigers. There will be a quiver of cobras waiting in the bushes as well. When the brothers encounter these ferocious animals they fight bravely and after some time they successfully defeat these animals and proceed to the huge tree where the parrots are known to nest.

The Heroes Capture One Bird But Its Partner Escapes

The heroes and their brave fighting allies creep quietly up to the tree where the parrots are located. The main assistant throws the huge iron net that has been prepared over their tree. But after much maneuvering, the men manage to capture only one bird, a female. Her partner/husband is able to escape. This is very upset at the loss of his mate and he flies to the hunter’s forest palace to complain to their princess. His sad song is heard through the palace window and he is invited in. He explains to the princess that he has lost his lovely wife to a bunch of farmer-thieves.

The Parrot Husband Flies to The Hunters’ Palace To Protest the Capture of His Wife

The hunters’ sister is upset by the news of the parrot’s capture. She calls her many brothers together. They plan revenge and soon a large group of hunter warriors come to Ponnivala. There they hope to kidnap the heroes' own little sister. But a mistake is made. The hunters stop at the river near the palace where they see a maid filling her water pots. They think she is the princess herself and so they kidnap her. The hunters run back to their own lands with this woman and prepare to make her into their own household servant. But the heroes’ brave assistant soon comes to her rescue. Using a few more tricks he carries her back to Ponnivala on his shoulder, unharmed. The female parrot, meanwhile, sits in a lovely gold cage by the heroes' sister's swing. She sings a sad song that laments the loss of her lifetime mate.

Episode 13: The Book of Fate

In this feature, we outline the chapters of The Legend of Ponnivala as we've laid them out in the animated and print series. The sub-story descriptions are those that occur in each episode, and are drawn from our Teacher's Handbook.

The Queen of Ponnivala finds herself alone at the gates of heaven. There she undergoes a twenty one year rite of pennance. Lord Shiva tests her determination repeatedly. But finally she persuades him to call off his curse of barrenness. The great Lord then places three magical children in her womb. The Queen returns to Ponnivala, rejoining her husband on the way.

The Queen Sits Deep In Prayer For 21 Years

The queen now sits on her pillar of penance for twenty one years. She is so motionless that a family of heavenly parrots build a nest in her nose. Eventually Lord Vishnu comes to check on her, and as he waves his arms the parrots leave the queen’s nose and fly off to earth. They go directly to the palace of the hill-dwelling hunter king. His sister greets them warmly and they settle in her forest.

The Queen Is Tested Seven Times

The supreme god, Lord Shiva, now pushes the queen to the brink of death. He then revives the poor queen only to put her through the same cycle again and again. Finally she has experienced a complete cycle of seven “rebirths.”

Lord Vishnu Intervenes

Lord Vishnu sees all this and becomes worried about the woman he has helped so much. So he takes the form of a beggar and goes before his sister, the wife of Lord Shiva. After being screened by a maid he is allowed in at last. There he complains to Shiva’s wife about the queen’s treatment. She then promises him that she will intercede with Lord Shiva himself. But Shiva is angry about the “heat” generated by the penitent who is requesting the gift of sons. His body is now covered with sores. He does not cede to Vishnu’s request for mercy easily.

The Queen’s Prayers Are Answered!

Finally Shiva allows his brother-in-law to bring the queen before him. He has his accountant check his records and then grants the penitent three children. The two boys will each reincarnate the spirit of an important hero in India’s famous classical epic: the Mahabharata. The girl will reincarnate one in a set of seven “virgin sisters” who live near Shiva’s counsel chambers. But there are two provisos:

1. All three children will have lives lasting only 16 years. 
2. Vishnu must give up his sacred conch shell and leave it “in hock” with the great god Shiva. 

He will only get this important possession back when he physically brings the lives of the three divine children back to Shiva’s chambers when their sixteen years of life are over. After these matters are finalized the couple start their long journey back to earth. Lord Vishnu revives the heroine’s “dormant” husband when she reaches the spot where he rests. The couple continue on to their palace together.

Odin’s Ravens and Tamarai’s Parrots

In The Legend of Ponnivala, Queen Tamarai must do penance by sitting in meditation for twenty one years before being permitted to take counsel with Lord Shiva. During this protracted meditation, two parrots take up residence in her nose. Before Tamarai awakens the parrots are shooed away by Lord Vishnu, and seek refuge in a forest kingdom under the protection of Viratangal.

The idea of birds nesting in someone’s nose seems a bit strange to Western readers, but there’s some significance to this occurrence when Eastern alchemy is considered. It is believed that when one enters a deep state of meditation, the physical body actually becomes hollow, making a potentially suitable residence for something like a bird (if the meditation is long enough).

Birds often represent some aspect of the spirit or mind in various mythologies, and this is even more important when we realize that many species of parrots mate for life. So it is that the parrot couple, husband and wife, are symbolic of family and marital loyalty. When their bond is disrupted by the capture of the wife-bird by Tamarai’s sons, Ponnar and Shankar, a war results, bringing an end to the family dynasty.

In Norse mythology, Odin; father of the gods and ruler of Asgard; had a pair of ravens named Huginn and Muninn. Their job was to fly around the world during the day and return to Odin in the evening with news of what was happening on Earth (Midgard). Their names mean “thought” and “mind” (or “memory”) respectively, and it’s believed that they represented these aspects of Odin’s daily meditation. While the lord of gods meditated, his thought and mind ventured out to open his consciousness to the goings on of the world under his protection.

Huginn and Muninn also represent the ideas of the fylgia; a supernatural companion that takes animal form in order to accompany a person in relation to their fate or fortune; and hamingja; the personification of the good fortune of a person or family, often in shape-shifting animal form as well. This ties the connection together nicely, as the fortunes of the ruling family of Ponnivala, as well as their enemies, are intimately tied to the treatment and deeds of their close animal companions.

Are there other mythic examples of birds representing these aspects of the mind and spirit in meditation? What about other duties they may be assigned? Share your thoughts below.