The Story of Chempakavalli

The story of Chempakavalli is a rare tale of ‘Sati’ (the practice of the wife jumping into the funeral pyre of the husband) in the history of Venad.
Ananthan Kutty Pattar and his wife Chempakavalli, were Brahmins from Valliyoor, who migrated to Padmanabhapuram, fleeing from
insecurity in their home land.
The king of Venad who lived in Padmanabhapuram, assured them that he shall protect them. He built houses for them to stay and they
flourished from the textile business, which they carried on from there.
One day, while returning from a business trip to the North along with his friends, Ananthan was killed by dacoits near Vaikom.The virtuous Chempakavalli, who loved her husband like a God, became shattered on hearing the news of her husband’s death.
She met the king of Venad and sought permission to perform ‘Sati’, by jumping into the funeral pyre of her husband. The stunned king, tried his best to dissuade her, but that was in vain. The king had to yield to the resolute Chempakavalli…
When she came dress like an ‘Apsaras’ (Celestial dancers of great beauty) to the burning pyre in all virtue, and walked into the fire with confident steps, the heart of the king who was witnessing all this, burnt within…
Charioted from the burning pyre to Devaloka (Heaven), she met the Lord and received the boon to be incarnated as Yakshi Amman. Today, she dwells as a ‘Devi’ in Udaygiri, Melancode and in numerous yakshi temples as the bestower of prosperity and wellbeing.
Chempakavalli’s story is alive in the ‘Vill Pattu’ in the folklore
tradition of Kerala’s Thekkan Pattukal (Southern songs)’ heritage.
Vill Pattu is an important ritual art form in the Amman Kovils of
Kerala and Tamilnadu, which follows the Dravidian culture of
worshipping mother goddesses. the songs are a mix of Malayalam and Tamil dialects and are sung to the beats struck on the chords of a ‘Vill’ (bow), with bells on the other end. This could be one of the longest musical instruments in the world…
Sathi Chembakavalli is the presiding deity in many temples of
Southern Kerala and Tamilnadu. But her full story today, dwells only within the realm of Vill Paatu.
Chempakavalli’s story is being presented here through graphic
illustrations on the tenets of the mural arts indegenous to Kerala.