The history of Kerala is very fascinating and
intriguing. Although the exact version about the origin and history of
Kerala, India is still a mystery as there are no written records about
Kerala history. Many tales about the history of Kerala exist in the form
of folklores. The most popular (and my personal favorite!) is the one in
which an avatar of Lord Vishnu (one of the main Gods of the Hindu
trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) recovers the land of Kerala from
the sea. The story is as follows.
According to ancient legends, the 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu was
born as the son of a sage. He was named Parashuram. Parashuram was an
ace warrior and it is said that he traveled around the world 21 times
and punished wrong doers for harassing the weak. It is said that
Parashuram is one of the few immortals on earth. According to legends,
it is said that Parashuram threw his battle-axe at the Arabian Sea. The
sea respected and feared Parashuram and receded to reveal the beautiful
land of Kerala. It is said that the sea never crossed the place where
the axe fell.
Besides this folklore, Kerala has been ruled over many times by foreign
invaders. Merging with the Dutch, Portugal and British rulers has
created a mixed community in Kerala. Most of the existing Christians are
influenced by the Latin style of Christianity and their culture is
noticeably dissimilar from the conventional Kerala culture. There were
migrants from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, besides a large number of
Gujaratis, Marwaris, Konkanis, who also migrated to Kerala. The gradual
settling and merging of one religion into the other has resulted in a
unique evenness that it is difficult to trace the original roots of
Kerala.
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