An Onam tradition, Pookalam is a flower arrangement made at the entrance of every house and temple in Kerala to welcome King Mahabali.
The Legend, According to Hindu mythology, King Mahabali was a noble and generous king who ruled Kerala during ancient times, and in whose reign the kingdom saw great prosperity and happiness. He was a king loved and respected by all. The gods feeling threatened by his growing adoration and for their own dominion over the worlds, approached Lord Vishnu to put an end to King Mahabali’s rule. Lord Vishnu knowing King Mahabali to be his devotee, instead decided to test him on his virtuous and charitable nature. Taking on the avatar of Vamana, a dwarf Brahmin, he asked the King for a piece of land that measured just 3 paces. The King, finding the request rather odd, but being a man of his word, granted him the wish. Vamana began to increase in size, and his first step covered the whole of the Earth, his second step covered the heavens, and when asked where to place his third step as there was no place left, the King offered his head as the resting point, and was thus pushed to the netherworld by Vamana. Having won the test by keeping his promise, Lord Vishnu appeared before King Mahabali and granted him a boon, and all that the King asked for was to allow him to visit his land and his people once every year.
Thus, Onam is celebrated to welcome the annual homecoming of King Mahabali to his beautiful land of Kerala.
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