Man and Vampire

Courtesy: Rijoy Art

Chottanikkara Temple is one of the most famous Hindu places of worship in Kerala. Divinity is worshipped in three forms here: Saraswathy (knowledge) in the morning, Lakshmi (wellbeing) at noon, and Durga (power) in the evening. There is an interesting legend about the place that involves a Brahmin named Mitran and a vampire known as Yakshi in Kerala.

Mitran is a holy Brahmin but has a weakness for women. In fact, the Namboothiris of Kerala were generally perceived as lecherous men until a century or so back. I don’t know how much truth such prejudices and perceptions carry. Probably they just reflect the ordinary people’s cultural anxieties rather than the reality. The Namboothiris wielded disproportionate power in the state once upon a time and people must have been terrified of them.

In the Chottanikkara tale, Mitran is a Kathakali fan. He wants to watch a Kathakali performance in Thrippunithura (another well-known Hindu holy place), a few kilometres from Chottanikkara. He leaves home after supper and has to walk through a forest. He takes along with him a copy of a holy book which belongs to his teacher. The teacher’s house is on the way and Mitran intends to return the book.

In the middle of the night, right in the heart of the forest, a yakshi appears. Yakshis always appear as seductively beautiful women first and then metamorphose into their real demonic shapes. Mitran is easily seduced by the yakshi whom he takes along with him. But his teacher recognises the yakshi for what she really is and counsels Mitran to return to Chottanikkara and seek the protection of the goddess there. The teacher also gives him a piece of cloth which is blessed ritually and has spiritual powers. So far, the holy book was his shield.

Clutching the cloth close to his heart, Mitran rushes back to Chottanikkara with the yakshi close on his heels in her monstrous shape. He discards the sacred cloth as soon as he reaches the temple, as advised by his teacher. But just at that moment – in the split second between the discarding of the cloth and his entry into the temple – the yakshi catches hold of him. Then the goddess herself appears and slays the yakshi.

There are plenty of such legends and folktales in Kerala. I have often wondered what they really wish to convey. 

Chottanikkara Temple

Psychologist C G Jung (who takes up a whole chapter in my book, The Simplest Guide to Religion), will tell us that the yakshi is an archetype of the fears we carry in our collective unconscious. She embodies the dark, destructive feminine energy that lurks in the male unconscious. The yakshi is alluring but deadly, representing repressed fears of sexuality, chaos, and the uncanny feminine. The yakshi is not an external reality; she symbolises the inner forces that threaten to overwhelm the conscious ego.

The holy text represents rational, intellectual defence. The piece of cloth, blessed ritually, symbolises communal faith, a protective shield that brings the power of collective belief into personal struggle. But sometimes we need more than such defences. The goddess herself has to appear. The goddess represents the Self, the totality of the psyche that integrates conscious and unconscious. Only the integrated Self can ultimately conquer the villainous shadows that constantly appear in our lives.

Let me try simplifying that. Think of it this way: inside each of us there are bright parts we know well, like our thoughts, choices, and everyday awareness. And there are dark parts we often ignore, like hidden fears, desires, or impulses. These ‘shadow’ forces can suddenly appear in life as problems, temptations, or inner conflicts.

Sometimes scriptures can help us deal with the situation, as it happens in Mitran’s case rather literally. Rituals help occasionally, like the cloth in Mitran’s hand. But there are times when we need to confront the ultimate reality within: our own inner turmoil. God is actually that inner harmony and wholeness.

These days, when too many of my compatriots are fighting in the name of religion and gods, hurling abuses on each other on social media while claiming to be defenders of gods all the time, I remember yakshis and deities. I wonder how many of these ‘devotees’ have understood anything at all about their gods and religions.