Naranath Bhranthan (madman
of Naranam) is a character in Malayalam folklore,
He was the
most popular among the twelve children of Vararuchi, was a man with unusual
talents. At the same time, he was a social revolutionary who taught against the
social evils and blind beliefs, which prevailed during the period. Those who
were unable to understand his revolutionary viewpoints called him bhrandhan
(madman).
Folklore:
"Vararuchi,
one of the nine wise men of King Vikramaditya’s court married a girl from
Paraya caste which is one of the lowest castes among the society of Kerala. Vararuchi sets out on a trip
with his wife across the land in search of questions posted by king. Each time upon delivery, Vararuchi asked her if the baby
had a mouth. If she said ‘yes’, he would say, “If God has given a mouth, it
will feed his mouth too” and would ask her to leave the child there and then
proceed. Grieved by these, when the 12th child was born, she lied and said the
baby did not have a mouth, upon which he permitted her to take the child along.
But when she was about to breast-feed it, the mouth was actually not there!!
Vararuchi
then consecrated the child on a hill, which is called
“Vaayillaakkunnilappan”
The children
left out in the forest were subsequently found, adopted and raised by families
belonging to different communities. They recognised one another as they grew
up, and used to meet at the illam (residence) of the eldest sibling, Mezhathol
Agnihothri, on their father Vararuchi’s death anniversary (Sraadham) - so goes
the story or myth. Each of these 12 tribes / families still exists in Kerala.
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