Kroni () is a figure in

Ayyavazhi mythology Ayyavazhi mythology is the mythology of the South Indian religious faith known as Ayyavazhi, which is officially considered a Hindu sect. The main source of Ayyavazhi mythology is the Ayyavazhi scripture, Akilathirattu Ammanai, and its suppl ...

. He is the primordial manifestation of

evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

, and manifests in various forms of evil, such as

Ravana According to the Mahakavya, Hindu epic, ''Ramayana'', Ravana was a kingJustin W. Henry, ''Ravana's Kingdom: The Ramayana and Sri Lankan History from Below'', Oxford University Press, p.3 of the island of Lanka, in which he is the chief antag ...

and

Duryodhana Duryodhana (, Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ̪ʊɾjoːd̪ʱən̪ᵊ ), also known as Suyodhana, is the primary antagonist in the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata.'' He is the eldest of the Kaurava, Kauravas, the hundred sons of King Dhritarashtra and Queen Gan ...

, in different ages or

yugas A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a period of time (whether long or short), or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga' ...

. To counteract and destroy the evil of Kroni's manifestations,

Mayon Mayon (; , ), also known as Mount Mayon and Mayon Volcano is an active stratovolcano in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Albay in Bicol Region, Bicol, Philippines. A popular tourist spot, it is renowned for its "perfect cone" bec ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: People, culture and language * Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka ** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...

name for

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

) incarnates as

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

s such as

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

. He seems to be more evil than the demon

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

of the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

and

Kalki Purana The ''Kalki Purana'' () is a Vaishnava Hindu text about the tenth avatar of Vishnu named Kalki. The Sanskrit text was likely composed in Bengal during an era when the region was being ruled by the Bengal Sultanate or the Mughal Empire. Wendy Don ...

sharing similarities with

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

Kroni in the Akilathirattu Ammanai

According to the

Akilathirattu Ammanai Akilathirattu Ammanai (; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Ak ...

, the Ayyavazhi holy book, Kroni was born in the first of the Eight Yukams (Yuga (Sanskrit); Aeons (English)) with multitudinous limbs each the size of a mountain, and was the first evil to be born in the Universe. He had a fire of ravenous hunger in his stomach, and he drank all the waters of the sea to quell it. When the water was insufficient, he then swallowed Kailayam (Kailash), the abode of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

, and then proceeded to devour the entire Universe. Mayon, residing with Shiva in Kailayam, escaped promptly and undertook a

Tavam Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्, romanized: tapas) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions. In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices includin ...

(''Tapas'' in Sanskrit, ''Penance'' in English) to get help from Shiva to destroy Kroni. Shiva granted the help, but made Mayon aware of the necessity of appearing in different forms for the successive six yukams in order to destroy the six fragments of Kroni. Being aware of the mission, Mayon sliced Kroni into six fragments and saved the Universe, and with that event the first Yukam ended.

Fragments of Kroni

The six fragments of Kroni were then born as evil spirits (or

Asuras Asuras () are a class of beings in Indian religions, and later Persian and Turkic mythology. They are described as power-seeking beings related to the more benevolent Deva (Hinduism), Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhism, ...

) in six successive Yukams (aeons). In all the yukams Mayon had to incarnate in the world to destroy the evils. The six fragments were known as # Kuntomasali # Thillaimallalan and Mallosivakanan # Suraparppan Sinkamukasuran and Iraniyan # Ravanan # Thuriyothanan and the Ninety-nine Brothers #

Kaliyan Kali (Kaliyan in Tamil) was the sixth fragment of the primordial manifestation of Kroni (evil) according to Akilathirattu, the source of Ayyavazhi mythology and the holy book of Ayyavazhi religion. Unlike other previous manifestations, Kal ...

Kroni, the spirit of

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'' (Devanagari: कलियुग), in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest, and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. I ...

, is said to be omnipresent in the present age, and this is one of the reasons why followers of Ayya Vazhi, like other Hindus, believe that the current yuga,

, is so degraded.

Philosophical view

Philosophically, Kroni is viewed as the

which prevents the

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

from attaining absolute bliss or knowledge. The six fragments are considered to be six evils found in the six chakras except

Sahasrara Sahasrara (, IAST: , , with many alternative names and spellings) or the crown chakra is considered the seventh primary chakra in Sanatan yoga traditions. The chakra is represented by the colour violet. Hatha yoga The Sahasrara is described ...

of the physical

human body The human body is the entire structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently Organ (biology), organs and then Organ system, org ...

. It is stated that every human being should overcome the qualities of the six fragments (ill effects) in order to attain divinity (

), the state of union with

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. But this view is often criticised by some followers because the

Akilam Akilathirattu Ammanai (; ''akilam'' ("world"), ''thirattu'' ("collection"), ''ammanai'' ("ballad")), also called Thiru Edu ("venerable book"), is the main religious text of the Tamil belief system Ayyavazhi. The title is often abbreviated to Ak ...

did not mention Kroni in direct relation to

Chakras A chakra (; ; ) is one of the various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, part of the inner traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the chakra arose in Hinduism. B ...

. As some believe that many philosophical concepts are symbolised indirectly as mythical figures in a story form in

, this view on Kroni is accepted during religious studies. ::::* Chakras :- The yugas assumed as chakras above, is one of the philosophical views and is not mentioned directly in Akilathirattu.

References

* G. Patrick, ''Religion and Subaltern Agency'', University of Madras, 2003 * Ari Sundara Mani, ''Akilathirattu Ammanai Parayana Urai'', Vaikundar Thirukkudumbam Publications, 2002. {{Ayyavazhi large Ayyavazhi mythology Demons Ayyavazhi philosophical concepts Destroyer gods Evil gods

Kroni in the Akilathirattu Ammanai

Fragments of Kroni

Philosophical view

See also

References