Chando Chandanamo (both chandu and chandanam(sandal paste) are used to adorn the forehead)

Chandanamanaal Manakkadtho (if it is chandanam, it would have been fragrant)

Manakka Mangayo (Is it a mango to give out fragrance)

Mangayanaa Thongatho (If it were mango it would have been hanging – on the tree)

Thonga Thoranamo (Is it festoon to hang?)

Thornamanaal Kattatho (If it were festoons, it would have been tied)

Katta Gopuramo (Is it a tower to build – Katta in tamil means both to tie and to build – The tower here indicates the tower of temple)

Gopuramano Kumbidatho (if it were a temple tower, should you not be paying obeisance to it)

Kumbida Rajavo (Is he a King to pay obeisance)

Rajavanal Eavano (If it were a king , would he not be ordering – eeaval also is used to describe the noise made by  lizards)

Eava palliyo (Is it a lizard to make noise)

Palliyanal Padungatho (if it were a lizard, would it not be hiding)

Padunga Kallano (Is he a thief to hide)

I do not remember beyond this. I have been asking many people for the past 3 years if they knew the ending of this. I have not been lucky enough to find anyone who could tell me the full song. If any of my readers know, please fill in. Thank you.

Update: Thanks to Uma in comments we have the rest of the song:

Kallanana odano (if he were a thief would he not run)
Oda Kaveriyo (Is it Kaveri to run -river Kaveri_
Kaveriyana kalangado (if it were Kaveri, would it not be murky)
kalanga kazhuneero (If it is murky, is it cattle-feed?)
Kazhuneerana thithikado (if it is kazhuneer would it not be sweet)
Thithika Vellamo (Is it jaggery to be sweet)
Vellamana Thinnukoyen (and if it is jaggery, why don’t you eat it)

The gate keepers of Lord Mahavishnu, Jaya and Vijaya were cursed by a sage to be born as Rakshasas (demons). They were born as brothers by name, Hiranyaksha (one with the goden eyes) and Hiranyakashipu (one with golden hair).They were very powerful demons and fought with the Gods. Hiranyaksha  took the earth (Bhooma Devi) and hid it in the pathala (netherworld). Lord Mahavishnu took the form of a boar (Varaha) and rescued Bhooma Devi  after killing Hirnyaksha. Hirnaykashipu was very saddened by the slaying of his  brother by Mahavishnu and decided to avenge the death of his brother. He decided to do a long and severe penance so he could be blessed with immortality and gain super powers to kill the devas (Gods). While he was meditating,  Sage Narada took Hiranyakashipu’s pregnant wife  Kayadhu to his ashram and took care of her. Sage Narada narrated the Puranas and stories of Mahavishnu to the pregnant Kayadhu.The child in her womb listened to the stories narrated by the sage and started meditating on Mahavishnu from inside the mother’s womb. In time Kayadhu gave birth to Prahalada. Influenced by the Bhagavatha stories of Sage Narada even when he was in his mother’s womb, Prahalada grew up as  great Bhagavatha (devotee of Lord Mahavishnu). His father after doing the great penance and bestowed with super natural powers from Brahma came back to his kingdom. Prahalada and his mother were brought back to the palace of Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu ordered that nobody in his kingdom should  chant the name of Narayana (Lord Mahavishnu). Instead they should chant “Hiranyaya Namah” (Obeisance to Lord Hiranya). But Prahalada being a great devotee of Lord Mahavishnu would chant only “Om Namo Narayanaya.” Angered by his son’s Narayana-bhakthi (devotion to Lord Mahavishnu), he ordered his soldiers to kill his own son, such was his anger towards Lord Mahavishnu for slaying his brother. The soldiers tried several methods to kill Prahalada. They threw him from the top of mountains, gave him poison to drink, let poisonous snakes in his bed, etc. But no harm came to the great devotee of Lord Mahavishnu. With each failed attempt at killing Prahalada, Hiranyakashipu became mad with anger. At this, his sister, Holika consoled him saying she would bring an end to Prahalada. Holika had  the power to not be harmed by fire. She suggested she would enter a big bonfire with Prahalada in her lap. Prahalada would be burnt to death and she would emerge safe. Thus a big bonfire was lit and Holika sat in the fire with Prahalada. Since Prahalada’s devotion to the Lord was more powerful than Holika’s power, Holika was burnt to ashes and Prahalada came out of the fire unscathed.

To commemorate the victory of this good over evil, the holifire is burnt during Holi.

Narakasura was a demon king who ruled from Pragjyothishapura which is today’s Assam.There are two versions about Narakasura’s birth. In one version it is said that he was the son of the demon king Hiranyaksha and in another version he is described as the son of Lord Mahavishnu.

The demon king Hiranyaksha was terrorising the three worlds, the earth, the sky and the nether world (Patala).The devas were terrorised by him and they all prayed to Lord Mahavishnu to bring an end to his evil ways. Mahavishnu promised to rescue them from Hiranyaksha and went in search of him. Hiranayaksha taking the form of a wild boar went to hide in the Patala taking Bhudevi (earth) with him. While the boar was carrying Bhudevi on his tusks, Bhudevi became pregnant by the touch of the tusk and gave birth to Narakasura. Bhudevi was stricken with grief for having given birth to an asura and went to Lord Mahavishnu carrying the baby and asked for the salvation of the asura son. Lord Mahavishnu gave His blessings and said none other than me can kill this son of yours.

In another verison it is said that as Hiranyaksha ran carrying Bhudevi in his tusks, Lord Mahavishnu took the form of Varaha and went to Patala and rescued Bhudevi, slaying Hiranyaksha. After rescuing Bhudevi, Lord Mahavishnu in Varaha Avatar married Bhudevi and Narakasura is the son of Lord Mahavishnu and Bhudevi.

Narakasura true to his name, terrorised the Devas and Gandharvas and humans and imprisoned 16000 women from all the worlds. He harassed the Devas in heaven and stole the kundalas (ear drops) of Devi Athithi. All the Devas went to Lord Mahavishnu and prayed for the end of Narakasura. The Lord answered their prayers and promised to kill Narakasura.

Thus in Lord Mahavishnu’s incarnation as Sree Krishna, He along with his consort Satyabhama went to Pragjyothishapura to kill Narakasura. A fierce battle took place in Pragjyothishapura at the end of which Narakasura was slain. Again there is a different version in which it is said that it was Sathyabhama who killed Narakasura to avenge the insult on Devi Athithi. Sree Krishna released all the women imprisoned by Narakasura and brought them to his place.

People rejoiced at the end of the wicked Narakasura and there was celebration all over and a joyous reception was given to Lord Sree Krishna and Sathyabhama on their return. To this day, Narakachaturdashi is celebrated as Deepavali from then on.

Sree Krishna was born as the eighth son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Devaki was the sister of Maharaja Kamsa, the king of Mathura. Kamsa was known as a very cruel king having imprisoned his father Ugrasena to ascend the throne of Mathura. However Kamsa was very affectionate towards his sister Devaki and performed the marriage of Devaki with Vasudeva in a grand manner. On the marriage day, as the bride and groom were taken in a procession in a decorated chariot driven by Kamsa himself along the streets of the capital city, there was a divine announcement from the heavens. The voice said, “Hey Kamsa, You will be killed by the eighth son of this couple, Devaki and Vasudeva.”

Kamsa was at once overcome by fear and ordered that the couple be killed. Vasudeva pleaded with Kamsa to spare their lives and promised to hand over all the babies born to them. Kamsa then put both Devaki and Vasudeva  under rigorous imprisonment under the constant vigil of his loyal soldiers. As each child was born to Devaki and Vasudeva, Kamsa would kill it. Devaki pleaded with her brother to allow her older  children to live as the divine voice had prophesied that only the eighth son would kill Kamsa. But Kamsa was very adamant and did not allow any of Devaki and Vasudeva’s children to live.

When Devaki was expecting her seventh baby, the growing foetus from Devaki’s womb was transferred to Rohini’s womb, who then gave birth to Balarama. Rohini was the first wife of Vasudeva.

When Devaki was pregnant with her eighth child, Kamsa became more strict in his vigil. Finally the day arrived. It was the eighth day after full moon in the month of Shravana and the star was Rohini. There was torrential rain with thunder and lightning. Lord Krishna was born  in the prison cell. When the baby was born, there were many divine signs proclaiming that the baby born was a special child. The baby was born with Shankha and Chakra mudras in his hands. The chains with which Devaki and Vasudeva were tied came loose. The prison gates opened on their own. The guards fell asleep. Vasudeva heard a divine voice telling him to transport the new born baby to Nandgaon where his friend Nandagopa’s wife had given birth to a baby girl at the same time. The voice guided Vasudeva to leave his baby at Nandagopa’s wife’s bedside and in exchange bring her girl baby back to the prison.

While Devaki was still asleep after the baby’s birth, Vasudeva placed the new born baby in a wicker basket and carried the baby across the river Yamuna to Nandgaon. The river Yamuna was in spate because of the incessant monsoon. As Vasudeva stepped into the  swirling waters of the Yamuna, the waters parted and gave way so Vasudeva could cross the river. Aadisesha, the many hooded serpent, on whose coils Lord Mahavishnu reclines in the Ocean of Milk, spread his hoods over the wicker basket to protect the baby from the rains. Vasudeva crossed Yamuna and reached Nandagopa’s abode and exchanged the babies when every one was fast asleep. Vasudeva brought the baby back and placed her by the side of Devaki.

As the baby girl started crying, the guards woke up from their sleep and informed their master Kamsa about the baby’s birth. Kamsa came to Devaki’s cell with his sword to kill the eighth child of his sister, the one he thought would be his killer. Devaki once again pleaded with her brother to allow the baby to live as it was a girl baby. Kamsa snatched the baby from Devaki’s hand and drew his sword to kill the baby, when the baby freed herself from Kamsa’s hands and took the form of Mahamaya and said, “Hey Kamsa, I am Mahamaya. The eighth child of Devaki, who would kill you is safe elsewhere. Wait for the day he kills you.” So saying, Mahamaaya disappeared.

So it was decided that Paru would be married to this young man and soon the day arrived for Paru to leave for her husband’s home. Paru was very sad that she had to leave her loving parents and other relatives and friends to a far away place where she did not know anyone. The elders in the family consoled her saying, “Don’t worry, your husband is a very good man. So his family also must be good. They will take good care of you. And you are not going very far away. Whenever you feel like seeing us, just send a message to us. We will come and bring you home.” They bade farewell to her and Paru and her young husband started their journey towards her new home. In those days there were no vehicles to travel from place to place and all the travelling had to done by foot.

So Paru and her husband walked and walked crossing rivers and fields and mountains. It was almost midday and yet there was no sign of any village. Paru was very tired of all the walking, so she asked her husband, “Amman, Amman, Ooracha?” (Have we reached our village yet, Uncle) to which her husband replied, “Innamoraru kadakkavenum” (we have to cross one more river). They walked for a long distance again and there was still no sign of any village. Paru was very exhausted and thirsty so she once again asked her husband, “Amman, Amman, Ooracha” and her husband replied, “innamoraru kadakkavenum.” They crossed more rivers and walked for long and it was evening and still there was no sign of any village. Paru could not walk any more. She was tired and thirsty and hungry, so she asked her husband once again, “Amman, Amman, Ooracha?“

Her husband was very irritated by her constant asking and he angrily replied, “Chumma irukkayo, swaroopathe kattattumo?” (Will you shut up or do you want to see my true form). Paru was very frightened by his anger and started walking again. After some time, with still no village in sight, Paru once again asked her husband, “Amman Amman, Ooracha?” Her husband got so angry that he roared and when Paru looked towards her husband she saw a huge lion roaring in front of her. The lion said, “now keep quiet and walk with me.” Shivering with fear Paru followed the lion and at last at nightfall, they reached the lion’s den in the forest.

Upon reaching the den, the lion, for it was a lion that had disguised itself as a young man and married Paru, told her, “I have three cubs and my wife is dead. I have married you to take care of my little ones. You have to be their mother and take care of all their needs. Cook for them, bathe them, play with them. You cannot escape from here.” Paru had no other go but to accept everything that the lion said because she was so far away from home. The lion would go out every day and hunt and bring food for her and the cubs. Paru would cook food and feed the lion and the cubs and do all the other work in the house. Whenever she was alone she would feel very sad and cry at her fate. After some time she decided that crying would not help and she had to devise a plan to escape from there. So she started thinking of ways and means to escape from there. She could not go from there back to her village alone as she was not sure of the route.

One day she saw a crow and decided to tie a letter to the foot of the crow. She wrote a detailed letter to her father saying that her husband was actually a lion and had cheated them all by taking human form and she had been assigned to cook for the lion’s cubs. She asked her father to come very soon and take her back. She also wrote that the lion would go hunting every morning and would return only in the evening, so her father should come to take her when the lion was away. She tied the letter to the crow’s feet and waited for a reply. Soon the crow brought the reply from her father saying that he would come and take her back. Paru waited for her father to come. Paru’s father came to the lion’s den the next morning when the lion was away. Paru put an iron griddle on the stove and caught and tied the lion cubs above the griddle so that they would get cooked and the fat in their body would drip on to the griddle, making a sizzling sound. Paru’s father locked the house from the inside and they both escaped from lion’s den and ran from the forest as fast as they could so that the lion would not catch them.

When Paru and her father reached their village, Paru’s father called a village meeting and narrated how the lion had cheated all of them and how he had brought back Paru with him. All the villagers were very angry at the lion for making fools of them all and were happy that Paru was back safe. They all agreed that the danger was not yet past. The lion was sure to come back angrier and kill them all for what Paru and her father had done to the cubs. So all of them devised a plan. The filled the well in Paru’s compound with dry leaves and twigs and spread a beautiful carpet on top of it.

The lion came back to its den in the evening and knocked at the door. Nobody opened the door. Through the door he could get the smell of burning fat and the sound of the dripping fat. He thought Paru was cooking a nice meal and eating it all alone. “Chuttu Chuttu thinnu, Iru Iru Varen” (You are cooking sizzling dishes and eating it all alone, wait till I come) roared the lion. He went around the den and knocked again and again and yet nobody opened the door. He was mad with anger and smashed the door open and went inside. What he saw inside made him more angry and when he saw the condition of his cubs he just could not control himself. He knew that Paru had escaped and decided to teach Paru a lesson.

The next morning he took the form of a young man again and dressed in nice clothes started towards Paru’s village. He met the village elders and along with them went to Paru’s house. As had been decided earlier Paru’s family welcomed him showing lot of love and affection and led him towards the well which was filled with dry leaves and twigs and made him sit on the carpet on which were kept trays of good food. The young man went towards the carpet to sit and as he stepped on to the carpet his feet sank in the dry leaves and twigs and he fell deep into the well. The villagers then filled the well with mud and sand so that the lion could never come out. Paru and her parents lived happily ever after.

It is not easy to tell story of Parikshit in the “short story” version and yet we used to ask our Echiyamma to tell us this story time and again. It is much later that I realized there is a different angle to the whole story. I particularly like the way it is narrated on this website.

This is my Echiyamma’s version.

Maharaja Parikshit  was the grandson of Arjuna and the son of Abhimanyu. He was a noble king. Once he went hunting with all his soldiers. After some time the Maharaja lost his way and was wandering in the forest. The Maharaja was very thirsty and tired and was looking for a drink of water. Finally, he saw a hut in the distance. With great difficulty the Maharaja reached the hut. It was the ashram of the sage Sameeka. The Maharaja went inside the ashram and seeing the rishi, asked him for water. Sameeka who was deep in meditation did not hear the Maharaja. The Maharaja who was exhausted by thirst asked Sameeka repeatedly for water but the sage would not reply. Seething with anger at Sameeka’s silence, the Maharaja stepped out of the Ashram. As he was coming out, he saw a dead snake lying on the ground. The Maharaja wanted to teach Sameeka a lesson. He lifted the dead snake with a stick and put it around the rishi’s neck and left.

Some children playing nearby saw the Maharaja leaving the Ashram in a fit of anger. They went and looked inside the ashram and saw the rishi meditating with a dead snake around his neck. They informed the rishi’s son of what they saw. Unable to believe what his friends said, the son went inside the ashram and was overcome with anger and grief that a rishi like his father should be treated this way by a Maharaja. He ran in the direction of the Maharaja and cursed him that he would die of  snake bite within seven days.

When Sameeka came out of his meditation, his son told him of what happened and the sage was very sorry to hear of the curse. He realized however (by his yogic vision) that the Maharaja was destined to die by the bite of the poisonous snake Takshaka. He knew that there was no way to save the Maharaja at this juncture. He sent one of his disciples to the Maharaja to tell him of the curse and his destiny.

By this time, the Maharaja was also overcome by grief at his own misbehavior and when the disciple told him of his curse, he thought he had been given the right punishment for his rash behavior. He wanted to spend the last seven days of his life in prayers so that he would attain moksha. His courtiers advised him to spend the time in a tall tower built in the middle of the sea so that no snake could enter the tower. The Maharaja was however resigned to his fate but agreed to the advice of his courtiers. A tower was built and the Maharaja spent his days in the company of great sages there listening to the stories of all great people. All his subjects went to meet him there. On the seventh day, one of his subjects offered him a fruit. As the Maharaja bit into the fruit, a small worm fell from it and immediately grew into a big snake that bit the Maharaja’s toe. The Maharaja attained the feet of the Lord Mahavishnu with the name of the Lord in his lips. Thus even on a tall tower, a worm can take one’s life if that was one’s preordained fate.

So Patti asked, “Kozhukkattai, Kozhukkattai, aen veakalai?” (Hello Kozhukkattai, why are you not cooked yet)
To which Kozhukkattai replied, “Adupperiyalai, Naan veakalai.” (the stove was not lit, so I am not cooked)
So Patti asked the stove, “Aduppe, Aduppe, aen Eriyalai?” (Oh stove, why were you not burning?)
The stove said, “Veragu vaikkalai, Naan eriyalai.” (Nobody kept firewood, so I did not burn)
Patti turned to her daughter-in-law, “Mattuponne, Mattuponne, aen veragu vaikkalai?” (Oh dear daughter-in-law, why did you not put firewood in the stove?)
Daughter-in-law answered, “Kozhandai azhudduthu, Naan veragu vaikkalai.” (The baby was crying, so I did not put firewood)
Patti cooed to the baby, “Kozhande, Kozhande, een azhuthai?” (Oh my dear child, why did you cry)
The baby wept, “Erumbu kadichuthu, Naan azhuthen.” (Ants bit me so I cried)
Patti approached the ant, “Erumbe, Erumbe, een kadichai” (Oh ant, why did you bite the baby?)
Erumbu said, “En pothukulle kale pottal naan kadikathiruppeno” (Will I not bite if somebody put their foot into the ant-hill?)

P.S. Many of these stories would appear to end abruptly. This is a story said in a sing song way and the verses are in rhymes. At the end of the story, the child is tickled in its foot with the verse, ”En pothukulle kale pottal naan kadikathiruppeno.” So the story ends there. It is also meant to teach the children not to play with ant-hills, which were plenty those days.

The verses ran like this:

Pandoru dhinam, randu poochakal
Koduvannorappakashnam panku vaikkuvan
Vangabudhiyam vanaran kayyil
Sankyenniye koduthu panku vaikkuvan

(I remember only these 2 verses)

It can be roughly translated as

Once upon a time two cats
Had a treat  to share.
They gave it to the monkey
Sure he would be fair!

I have built the following story from the above verses. Happy Reading!

Once upon a time there were two kittens named Mia and Pussy. They were great friends and always played together. Wherever Pussy went, Mia followed and wherever Mia went Pussy followed. Their parents were very happy about their friendship. They went around their neighbourhood singing, dancing and playing. All their neighbours loved them for they were very lovely and friendly cats.

Ms Marjari was a lovely cat who lived down the the road. She liked Pussy and Mia very much and often invited them for small treats like a piece of cake.

One day, Ms Marjari called them, as they were playing in front of their house. “Hello Pussy and Mia,” said Ms. Marjari. “Hello Ms. Marjari, How do you do?” asked Mia and Pussy in unison. “Come along, I have a surprise for you,” said Ms. Marjari. “Here we come,” said Pussy and Mia and ran inside Ms. Marjari’s house, excitedly. They were sure of getting a good treat. “Come in and sit down,” said Ms Marjari. Pussy and Mia sank in Ms Marjari’s soft as feather sofa. “Sing a song for me,” Ms Marjari told Pussy and Mia. Pussy and Mia sang a very beautiful song for Ms Marjari. Ms Marjari was very happy and said, “Thank you very much Pussy and Mia and here comes the surprise.” She brought a delicious rich chocolate cake and gave a piece to Pussy and Mia. She said, “now you both go home and share the cake. I have to go out now.”

Pussy and Mia were very happy and came out singing and dancing. They couldn’t wait to eat the cake till they reached home. So they went to the park nearby and opened the packet. “Now,” Pussy said, “I will divide the cake equally.” Mia replied, “no, no, I shall divide it equally, I am older than you.” Pussy said, “that is not fair, I shall do it, Ms Marjari gave it to me.” Mia would not agree. They continued arguing about who would divide the cake .

Atop a tree in the park, where Pussy and Mia were sitting and arguing, was a cunning Monkey called Vanar. He was all the while watching their argument. “Ah, here comes my chance of getting that lovey cake all for myself,” he said to himself.

He came down the treee and stopped near Pussy and Mia as if to find out what was happening. “Hello Pussy and Mia, what is happening? What are you arguing about?” Pussy said, “Hello Vanar, Ms Marjari gave us a cake and asked us to share it. Mia won’t allow me to cut the cake.” Mia said, “I can cut the cake evenly, but Pussy would not allow me.” The cunning Vanar said, “don’t worry my friends, now that I am here I will cut the cake into two equal parts and give to you.” Both Pussy and Mia agreed to this and gave the cake to Vanar. Vanar took the cake and bit it into two parts and told Pussy and Mia to take one piece each. But Pussy and Mia were not happy as one piece was big and the other was small. Vanar said, “don’t worry, I shall make them equal.” He bit into the bigger piece and swallowed a piece and kept the other piece near the other piece and said, now they are equal. Pussy and Mia found that the new piece was smaller and the earlier piece was bigger. “Don’t worry friends,” said Vanar, “I shall make them equal.” He took the bigger piece and bit into it making it smaller and eating a piece himself. “Now they are equal, you can have one piece each,” he said. Pussy and Mia found that again they were of unequal size. “I shall make them equal,” said Vanar again and bit into the bigger piece. This continued until there was only a small piece left. Pussy and Mia were very sad that they were not getting any cake and Vanar was enjoying their cake. They said, “please give the cake piece back to us, we will divide it ourselves.” The wicked Vanar said, “what reward am I getting for spending all my time dividing your cake? So this piece of cake shall be my reward.” So saying, he gulped the remaining piece of cake and jumped up the nearest tree and hopped away merrily. Both Pussy and Mia were very sad and started crying.

Who should come there then but Ms Marjari. Seeing both Pussy and Mia in tears, Ms Marjari asked them why they were crying. Pussy and Mia told Ms Marjari about their fight and how Vanar ate the whole cake. Ms Marjari told them, “Mia and Pussy, you are good friends. Good friends never fight. You should have divided the cake yourselves and enjoyed it. Fighting over the cake you lost your cake. And never trust a stranger. Now don’t cry, come along, I shall give you both a piece of cake.” Ms Marjari gave them both a piece of cake each and they thanked Ms Marjari and promised that they would never fight again.