The son of Pandava prince Arjuna (one of the main heroes of the Mahabharata) and the Naga princess Ulupi, Iravan is the central deity of the cult of Kuttantavar (Kuttandavar) which is also the name commonly given to him in that tradition—and plays a major role in the sect of Draupadi.

However, the South Indian traditions have a supplementary practice of honouring Aravan's self-sacrifice to the goddess Kali to ensure her favour and the victory of the Pandavas in the war.

The Draupadi tradition emphasises another boon: Krishna allows Aravan to witness the entire duration of the Mahabharata war through the eyes of his severed head.

Separate Javanese traditions present a dramatic marriage of Irawan to Titisari, daughter of Krishna, and a death resulting from a case of mistaken identity.

[3] In turn, the root Iravat is derived from Irā (इरा)—closely linked with Iḍā (इडा)—meaning "possessing food", "endowed with provisions" or, by extension, "comfortable" (as used in the Mahabharata and the Rig and Atharva vedic scriptures).

[4] Alf Hiltebeitel, George Washington University professor of religion,[5] suggests that the Sanskrit name Iravan or Iravant is derived from Iḍā-vant, "one who possessed Iḍā".

The French Indologist Madeleine Biardeau describes religious use of the word Iḍā as reference to an "oblatory substance consumed by the participants from which comes all fecundity of the sacrifice".

[18] The editor of the first great critical edition of the Mahabharata commented: "It is useless to think of reconstructing a fluid text in a literally original shape, on the basis of an archetype and a stemma codicum.

[24][25] He takes particular note of a scene towards the end of a puranic text, Devi Mahatmyam, in interpreting old Tamil sculptures depicting a warrior king spilling his own blood, as in the Purana, in adoration of a goddess of victory.

[24] He also finds parallels in the Telugu legend of the sacrifice of Barbarika[26]—another Mahabharata character—and its variants in Rajasthan (see also: Khatushyamji), Himachal Pradesh, Garhwal, Kurukshetra, Bundelkhand and Orissa.

[32] For example, Iramacamippulavar's Merkolvilakka Kkatai Akaravaricai (1963)—which narrates the tale of Aravan—ends with the conclusion that Aravan continues to live on as a folk hero in Tamil Nadu, because he embodies "the ideal of self-sacrifice".

[41][42] On the eighth day of the war, Iravan combats the princes of Gandhara, sons of king Suvala, and the younger brothers of Shakuni, the treacherous maternal uncle of the Kauravas.

Krishna first discusses the issue with Yudhishthira (Dharma or Dharmaraja), the eldest of the Pandavas, recommending the sacrifice to Kali as a part of an ayudha-puja ("worship of the weapons").

[50] In terukkuttu performances, at the time of Aravan's sacrifice, he is often compared to Puru and Bhishma, characters in the Mahabharata who gave up their youth and sexual fulfilment for the sake of their respective fathers, Yayati and Santanu.

In the Kuttantavar cult version, Krishna solves this dilemma by taking on his female form, Mohini the enchantress, marrying Aravan, and spending that night with him.

The Koovagam version additionally relates Krishna's mourning as a widow after Aravan's sacrifice the next day, after which he returns to his original masculine form for the duration of the war.

A third view harmonises all the boons, holding that Aravan's body reconstituted after the sacrifice; he then fought heroically until being decapitated on the eighth day, observing the remainder of the war through the eyes of his severed head.

The Aravanis participate in similar Kuttantavar festivals, of smaller scale, in other villages like Tevanampattanam, Tiruvetkalam, Adivarahanattum—5 miles (8 km) north-west of Chidambaram—and Kotthatai (all in Tamil Nadu) and also in Pillaiyarkuppam, in Puducherry.

[80] Early on the 16th day, the "soul" of Aravan is transferred back to his repainted head and the cuvami tirukkan tirattal ("opening of the god's holy eyes") ceremony is performed with painting of the pupils.

At this "weeping ground", the Aravanis mourn Aravan's death by breaking their bangles, beating their breasts and discarding their bridal finery, like the legendary Mohini-Krishna.

[92] During the festival, the actor playing the part of Draupadi (and other women participating in the public ceremonies) lament the death of Aravan and the other heroes of the war.

[94] At Tindivanam, a headless clay and bamboo body of Aravan is modelled, showing him in a heroic position, kneeling on his left knee and holding a bow.

Aravan's story is then re-enacted; one of the actors, believed to be possessed by Kali, kills a rooster over the statue's neck, symbolising the sacrifice.

[99] In the districts of Cuddalore, Thanjavur and Villupuram, Aravan's head is hoisted to an elevated position to watch over the patukalam and the symbolic re-enactment of the Mahabharata war.

"The earliest evidence of the penetration of the Sanskrit epics into rural areas is found in the Sangsang copper plate inscription issued in the name of King Balitung in AD 907.

"[101] A "rendering of the Mahābhārata (IAST original) into Javanese was undertaken under the patronage of King Dharmawangśa Tĕguh (AD 990–1016)",[101] culminating in "a recital of the Wirāṭaparwa for 'one month minus one evening'—commencing on 14 October and ending on 12 November 996.

While in India, Irawan's mother Ulupi is a Naga (serpent), in Javanese legends she is the daughter of the sage Kanwa (Jayawilapa in puppetry) of the Yasarata hermitage.

[103][104] Irawan and his stepbrother Abhimanju (Abhimanyu) or Angkawijaya are the protagonists of more than 40 lakons ("scenes", "dramas" or "plays") set in the Amarta Period, the era of the Pandawas (Pandavas).

[108] While Titisari is engaged to Irawan, Baladewa (Baladeva), Kresna's brother and an ally of the Kurawas (Kauravas), wants her to marry Lesmana Mandrakumara, the son of Durjudana (Duryodhana), initiating a dramatic conflict.

Siti Sendari, the eldest daughter of Kresna and the estranged wife of Abhimanju, takes advantage of the situation and schemes to bring Irawan and Titisari together, while also mending her relationships with her husband.