The Myth Behind the Origin of Lord Ayyappa and the Divine Sabari Hill Temple

[bitterkai]

Thousands and thousands of Ayyappa disciples visit the famous temple of Sabari every year from all around India. Several modifications to the original temple and surroundings are happening year by year to accommodate the exceedingly growing number of pilgrims visiting the temple. God given natural beauty of the Sabari Hill is slowly deteriorating because of the destruction of dense forests around the focal points of the pilgrimage to accommodate the ever growing number of pilgrims. During respective seasons one can approach the shrine using various modes of transportation via either Chalakayam town or more intensively through the mountain trails commencing from Erumeli Township and climbing over the Karimala Mountains in bare foot (close to 50 Km). The main pilgrimage season is from November to January. The temple is opened for brief periods at the commencement of each Malayalam month and during certain important Malayali festivals. The shrine is located 914 m above sea level amidst dense forests. Vehicular traffic cannot go beyond Pampa, situated on the Pampa river valley and the last five kilometers to the shrine can be best reached by trekking. Modern facility such as ropeway is currently under construction. However, porter carried chairs are also available for aged and handicapped pilgrims. Note that tourists and foreigners, as well as women between the ages of 10 and 50 (approximately age at puberty and menopause), are not officially allowed entry to the main temple.

The origin of Sabari Hill and the divine birth of Lord Ayyappa can be best explained if we go much deeper into the myths. Therefore, it is inevitable to search the origin of two other important mythical characters such as "Mahishasura" and "Mohini" whose involvement in the current story is highly inter-dependent.

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The Story of Mahishasura


The myth teaches us that the people who live in Heaven are believed to be "Devas" and the people in hell (the world beneath or pathala) are "Asuras". Devas are divine personalities while the Asuras are demons. Let me take you to those ages. "Ramba" and "Karamba" were the sons of "Dhanu". Once both Ramba and Karamba undertook severe penance. Karamba had immersed himself up to neck-deep in water and Ramba in blazing fire to propitiate Lord Agni (the Lord of Fire). "Devendra", the king of Devas has foreseen the danger to his throne. He assumed the form of a crocodile, and killed Karamba while in deep meditation. Ramba after realizing his brother’s fate got frightened and prepared to commit suicide. Lord Agni couldn’t stand by at this juncture as one of his most devout disciples was preparing to commit suicide because of what Devendra had done to Karamba. Therefore, Lord Agni appeared before Ramba and asked him what boon he wanted. Ramba requested for a son who would not be killed by Devas, Asuras or men. The boon was granted.

On his way back home, Ramba met a beautiful female buffalo. One should also remember that all Asuras were believed to have buffalo head. The male buffalo (male Asura) is called "Mahishan" and the female buffalo (female Asura) is called "Mahishi". He fell in love with her at first sight and decided to take her home. They had to halt a night in a jungle during their trip back home. At midnight while Mahishan (Ramba) was making love with the Mahishi, another wild male buffalo got intervened and killed Ramba. The grief-stricken she-buffalo also gave up her life by jumping into the funeral fire of Ramba. It is a fact in the myth that once a boon is given, under any circumstances the boon has to materialize. Therefore a baby boy is born from the funeral fire of Ramba and the she-buffalo. The boy is later named as "Mahishasura".

The Story of Enchanting "Mohini"


Mahishasura is brought up by Ramba’s relatives who trained him to be their king. Mahishasura was always looking for more power. He worshipped Lord Brahma and performed severe penance for a boon. The Lord is pleased and appeared before him. Mahishasura obtained a boon from Lord Brahma by which no men could kill him. After receiving the boon, Mahishasura began expanding his kingdom. Finally he entered the heaven and conquered Devendra. All Devas were then exiled from heaven. Devas approached the male Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and pleaded for help. The male Trinity decided to consult the female Trinity of Saraswathi, Lakshmi and Parvathi. They decided to create a female character by name Durga who would possess the combined power of Devas and the combined beauty of the female Trinity. Durga provoked Mahishasura by her laughter to wage war with her. Mahishasura accepted the challenge and a fierce battle ensued in which Durga killed Mahishasura and his followers. The battle and Mahishasura’s murder are ritually performed in Kerala as "Mahishasura Vadham" even nowadays.

"Leela", Mahishasura’s cousin decided to take revenge on Devas after realizing the horrible death of her cousin. The Mahishi also undertook severe penance and propitiated Lord Brahma and received a boon to the effect that she would attain her end only by a baby who could born from "Hari" (Vishnu) and "Hara" (Siva), two male characters. If such a baby is born, prior to possessing the power to kill her, the offspring must have served in a royal family for a minimum period of twelve years in an earthly kingdom. As part of her strategy, she attempted to provoke Devendra, the king of Devas. However, Devendra realized the danger up-front and approached Lord Vishnu for a solution. Lords Vishnu and Brahma created Datta, a male Asura to divert the attention of Leela from Devendra. Though the trick worked out temporarily, Devas decided to seek a permanent solution. But how could she be killed? The question could not be answered by anyone for a while.

Finally Lord Siva came to their rescue. As part of the solution, Devas invited Asuras to churn the ocean of milk called "Paalazhi" to recover "Amrutha" or nectar, imbibing of which would make one immortal. They chose the "Manthara" mountain as the churning stick and Vasuki, Lord Siva's snake (Lord Vishnu used to sit as well as sleep on a similar mythologically significant snake called Ananda) as the churning rope. During churning, first came the worst poison, "Kalakootha". Lord Siva, realising that the poison could destroy the whole world, tried to swallow it himself. Parvathi, his wife, in order to save her husband's life, squeezed his neck to prevent the poison from going further down inside his body. The dark blue poison got stuck in his throat. Hence Lord Siva came to be called by another name "Neelakantan" (blue necked).

Then came the nectar. However, a quarrel broke out between Devas and Asuras in sharing the nectar. Devas could not afford to have all Asuras becoming immortal. Therefore Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a beautiful maiden woman called "Mohini" to entice the Asuras away from the nectar. That was how Mohini originated in the myth. Mohini successfully distracted the Asuras and led them away from the beach while Devas, without wasting any time. flew away to heaven with the whole of "Amritha".

The Arrival of "Mohini"


The most appealing version of Mohini’s arrival narrates as follows.

Once upon a time Bhasmasura, a powerful Asura, meditated on Lord Siva and performed severe penance. The Lord was pleased and granted him a boon. The boon bestowed upon the Asura the power of turning people to ashes with not more than a mere touch. However at first the sceptical Bhasmasura didn’t believe that Lord Siva would grant him such a powerful boon. Therefore he decided to test the validity of the boon on Lord Siva himself.

The Lord fled with fear and approached Lord Vishnu and requested him to rescue him from destruction. Lord Vishnu decided to trick the Asura. He appeared before Bhasmasura in the form of an enchanting damsel named "Mohini".

Bhasmasura was passionately excited and forgot his objective. He wanted Mohini to marry him. Mohini agreed, subject to one condition that he should promise her by touching his own forehead that he would not think of another women from then on. Bhasmasura forgot the consequences of this and touched his forehead.

Momentarily he turned into ashes.

The stunningly beautiful Mohini returned to Lord Siva with the victorious news. But on setting his eyes on Mohini's intoxicating beauty, Lord Siva himself got enticed and succumbed to her charm. The result was the birth of "Sastha" or "Ayyappa". Ayyappa was born on the last day of the month of "Dhanu" on a Saturday (More precisely the myth corresponds to January 13th).

Incarnation of Lord Ayyappa and Sabari Hill Temple

The birth of Lord Ayyappa from Lord Siva (Hara) and Lord Vishnu (Hari) as stated above was a great relief to Devas.

They believed that "Hariharan" would be their savior who could put an end to Leela Mahishi whose story was described in Part I. Therefore Lord Siva asked "Sastha" to serve as an earthly king for twelve years which was one of the pre-requisites to kill Leela Mahishi. For this purpose Ayyappa was abandoned on the banks of river Pampa.

At that time, Rajashekara was the King of Pandalam. His queen had not borne him any offspring. Both the King and the Queen used to constantly pray to the Lord to be blessed with a child. One day,the King went hunting in the forest of Pampa . At night , while resting, he heard the cry of a little boy nearby. The king immediately ran to the banks of river Pampa where he found the new-born baby with a golden bell around his neck. The King believed that the child was sent by the Lord. He took the baby to his palace. The queen was jubilant and welcomed the unexpected gift from the Lord. Since the baby was wearing a golden bell around his neck they decided to call him "Manikantan".

The divine boy was brought up in a fine manner. He was provided with complete physical and mental education. In a short period of time the boy mastered all lessons. The teacher was extremely happy at the achievements of his disciple and at the same time realized the boy’s divine power. At the time of accepting "Guru Dakshina" (fees) the Guru refused to accept any material benefits. He requested Manikanta to bless his son who was both blind and deaf.

The dutiful disciple with his miraculous touch restored the boy’s sight and speech. Thereon, many more divine feats followed.

Subsequent to the arrival of Manikanta, the queen was blessed with a child of her own. Both boys grew up as loving brothers. The time came to pass on the throne from the King to the next generation. While the King decided to pass the throne to the elder son, the queen was slightly inclined to her own biological son. The General of army was also on her side. They decided to discreetly thwart King’s decision by tricking him. They approached the royal physician and enticed him with rewards so that he became an accomplice to the subterfuge. The queen pretended to have severe stomach ache. The physician approached the King and falsely convinced him of the seriousness of the queen’s condition and held that drinking of leopard's milk was the only remedy.

The King stood aghast at this incomprehensible remedy prescribed. "How could a leopard be approached for milk". He asked. "And who would undertake such a dangerous mission?" Upon hearing this Manikantan appeared in front of the King and agreed to undertake this mission to save his mother. The King did not , at first, relent to this request from his beloved son. However, after a series of talks Manikantan could convince his father and departed for the forest.

The Stories of Kadutha and Vavar


The temple of Manikanta on Sabari Hill is redesigned and reconstructed in a unique manner. The design of the temple is believed to have originated from the specific instructions of the Lord Manikanta himself. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple faces the east. There are eighteen steps in front of the temple. These steps represent the five `indriyas' , the eight `Ragas', the three `Gunas', `Vidhya' and `Avidhya' . The positions of `Malikapurathamma', `Kadutha' and `Vavar' are also believed to be predetermined. Lord Manikanta wanted his Shakti, Malikapurathamma on his left at a few yards from Sannidhanam and his lieutenants Vavar and Kadutha to be positioned as guards at the foot of the eighteen holy steps.

The stories related to Kadhuthaswami and Vavarswami according to `Bhoothanadha Puranam' are very interesting. Kadutha, who was a great warrior and a dependant of Pandala Raja, belonged to a family by name `Malamel Veedu' situated near near Killiseri,Chenganoor, Kerala. At Kaduthaswami temple, contrary to the usual practices of a Brahmin being the Pujari (Hindu Priest), traditionally a Nair belonging to the the Malamel family (ancestral house of Kadutha), performed the rituals. Kadutha was an expert in mountain-warfare. He played an indispensable role in defeating the armies of Udayanan and rescuing several Pandya Kings. Therefore Kadhutha was called to protect and assist the King of Pandalam, who decided to proceed to Sabari Hill to reconstruct the temple. Kadutha sacrificed a considerable time of his life in the reconstruction of the temple. By the time they remodelled the temple, Kadutha became very attached to Lord Manikanta. After the construction was completed, Kadutha decided to stay back at Sabari, in order to devote the remaining days of his life, at the feet of his beloved deity.

One day, while Kadutha was engrossed in deep prayer, a few scheming warriors of Udayanan’s army decided to take advantage of the situation and surprised Kadutha with a lightning attack. Kadutha rushed to the temple and took refuge in its premises. Hugging the deity, he fervently prayed to his beloved God. The marauders were surprised to see this single-minded devotion with which Kadutha was trying to protect the deity without any regard to his own life. On seeing such devotion the warriors were moved . They praised him and withdrew the attack on the temple. After his death, it is believed that the Priests of the temple received a holy message from Lord Manikanta to immortalize Kadutha by providing him a niche, at the very feet of the Lord.

Another prominent deity near `Pathinettam Padi' (eighteen steps) is `Vavarswami'. The deity of Vavar is believed to be as old as the deity of Ayyappa. The estimated time of the most recent major remodeling of the temple happened during the year A. D. 1905. Even today, at the shrine of Vavarswami, a Muslim priest performs the `Poojas' (rituals). There is no distinguishable idol, but just a carved stone slab symbolises the deity of Vavarswami. A green coloured silk cloth is hung across one of the three walls. The fourth side is open. An old sword is also kept near the wall. The main offering to Vavarswami is green pepper. A Hundi (a donation box) is kept in front of this shrine, into which one can drop cash/coins etc. In addition to green pepper, rose water and sandalwood paste along with coconut and `ghee' (clarified butter) are also offered by the pilgrims. Some of the pilgrims bring goats to Vavarswami. This is mainly due to a belief that the pilgrims accompanied by goats could reach the Sannidhanam safely. The Devasam Board (the temple authorities) auctions these goats later.

Some of the families at Vaipur near Thiruvalla in Alapuzha district claim to be the 14th or 15th line of descendants of Vavarswami. The descendants of Vavar are believed to be Vaidyas practicing the Unani(Greek) system of medicine. They were believed to be Brahmins who had later converted to Islam. However, there is another interesting story relating to Vavar. According to this reference, Vavar originally belonged to Pandya Desam near Madurai in Tamil Nadu (currently Chennai). The myth says that the Vavar family migrated to Travancore during an attack from Thirumalainaicken, a minister of the Pandya kingdom.

There are other legends too about Vavar and his association with Ayyappa. Some believe that Vavarswami was a Muslim saint who migrated from Arabia to India with the intention of spreading Islam. Others suggest that he was a warrior who reached the shore of Kerala as a pirate in a ship to loot and plunder. During his encounter with Lord Ayyappa, he was defeated and subdued by Lord Ayyappa. Since then Vavar became a close associate of Lord Ayyappa and helped him in the wars in the mountainous region. As time passed ,Vavar too became an ardent devotee of Ayyappa just like Kadhuthaswami and came to be known as Vavarswami. The old sword on the wall of the Vavar shrine symbolises the eminence of Vavar as a great warrior. It is believed that the Lord Ayyappa Himself instructed the King of Pandala Desam to build a mosque for Vavar at Erumeli and a shrine at Sabarimala.

Note: The article is the result of the author's interpretations of his research. It has been included purely to represent another view point. The contents do not purport to represent the official view point of ABASS or any other such organisation.

[nenuinthe]

[img]http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k379/NFDB/Brahmanandam%20-4/th_brahmi99.gif[/img] ippudu edanta sadavala...nuvvu sadivi sat lo seppu

[bitterkai]

[quote author=Nenuinthe link=topic=55742.msg544876#msg544876 date=1270281861]
[img]http://i325.photobucket.com/albums/k379/NFDB/Brahmanandam%20-4/th_brahmi99.gif[/img] ippudu edanta sadavala...nuvvu sadivi sat lo seppu
[/quote]

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