Paḷḷivēṭṭa, or the ‘Royal Hunt’, in Prescriptive Literature and in Present-day Practice in Kerala

Abstract

The ritual manuals produced in Kerala are unique in their nature since most of them do not make a precise difference between the systems of Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava but rather adopt a synthesized approach. The authors of these ritual manuals were ready to introduce or omit rituals that were described in the early texts, according to need. The manuals that were written in the early period included initiation rituals and gave importance to the theological aspect; the later ones completely omitted these elements, being written as guides for temple rituals. They are not, however, uniform in their ritual prescriptions. While these manuals were intended as guides for the performance of rituals, in practice some of the rituals prescribed in the manuals are left out, altered or localized. In this article, ‘paḷḷivēṭṭa’, a ritual that is presently performed during the annual festival in Kerala temples, is examined to show how this ritual is described in the manuals and how it is practised today.

Keywords

• Kerala
• paḷḷivēṭṭa
• royal hunt
• parivēṭṭai
• pariveṣa
• pariveṣaṇa