Thrissur: The two-week-long Kadavallur Anyonyam, an annual competition between two Brahmaswam mutts in Thrissur, by reciting the slokas of Rig Veda, will end at the Sri Ramaswamy temple near Kunnamkulam on Thursday.
The organisers said that Kadavallur Anyonyam is meant for those who are proficient in Rig Veda to perform their reciting skills.
The competition is between Thrissur and Thirunavaya Brahmaswam Mutts. The event started as a competition between the Thrissur mutt under the King of Kochi and that of Thirunavaya under the Zamorin of Calicut, the organisers said.
One team is asked to recite some of the 10,000- odd slokas in the Vedas by placing certain number of stones that indicate a certain sloka in a particular ‘Ashtakam’. The rival team can raise objection if there is any fault in terms of pronunciation and other matters while the slokam is rendered.
“We do not give any certificates or awards for the best performers. At times, they may be felicitated by the seniors. For the participants, putting up a good show at the anyonyam is a great recognition. One’s memory and the ability for chanting of the slokas by heart is tested at the competition,” Kanippayyur Krishnan Namboothiripad, the secretary of the Kadavallur Anyonyam Parishath, told DC.
Only the students belonging to Brahmin community are allowed admission to the both the mutts and they undergo regular studies even up to degree and engineering by staying in the mutts.
In Thrissur Brahmaswam Mutt, there are nearly 30 students. No students stay at the Thirunavaya Mutt. “Nearly ten years ago, the parishath got central government funds to teach Vedaa for kids in other communities as well,” Namboothiripad said and added that the number of participants in the event was on a decline.
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