Palliyodam is a type of large snake boat built and used by

Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple The Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is a Hindu temple located in Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, South India, on the southern bank of Pamba river, the third longest river in Kerala. It is dedicated to the Lord Krishna, who ...

in the Pathanamthitta district for the annual water processions of Uthrattathi Jalamela and

Valla Sadhya Valla Sadya is a celebration in the Hindu temple at Aranmula, Kerala, India. During the festival, the village conducts a Vallam Kali, snake boat race in the Pampa River, and there is a feast at the temple. The Valla Sadhya is conducted on Asht ...

Pamba River The Pamba River (also called Pampa River) is the longest river in the Indian state of Kerala after Periyar (river), Periyar and Bharathappuzha, and the longest river in the erstwhile former princely state of Travancore. The Sabarimala Temple, d ...

Legend

According to the legend, these snake boats were designed by

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

and were made to look like

Shesha Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents ( Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the ...

naga, the serpent on which

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

rests on.

Composition

Palliyodam is made from anjili (a kind of jackfruit tree). There will be 64 rowers in Palliyodam each representing 64 art forms. And the 4 rowers at the end represent the four

Vedas FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...

. There are 9 golden shapes at the ends of the Palliyodam which represent the 9 planets(

Navagraha The navagraha are nine heavenly bodies and deities that influence human life on Earth according to Hinduism and Hindu mythology. The term is derived from ''nava'' ( "nine") and ''graha'' ( "planet, seizing, laying hold of, holding"). The nine part ...

). The Palliyodam is kept inside special sheds called Palliyoda Pura, into which outsiders are not allowed to enter.

Rules

Only men are allowed to enter the Palliyodam and they are allowed only after they followed a prescribed diet and ritual, and also they can't enter inside wearing any other clothing, except the

Mundu The mundu (Malayalam: ; ) is a garment worn around the waist in the Indian states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, the Lakshadweep archipelago, and the Indian Ocean island nation of Maldives. It is closely related to sarongs like dhotis and lungis ...

and a thorthu (a white towel).

References

Indigenous boats {{Kerala-stub

Legend

Composition

Rules

See also

References