Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Temple is one of the most famous and olden Temple in India.Ayyappa Temple is Located in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta district in Kerala. The shrine of Sabarimala is one of the most remote shrines in southern India yet it still draws three to four million pilgrims each year. Surrounded by mountains and dense forest Sabarimala is believed to be the place where Ayyappan meditated. It is believed that "Parasurama Maharshi" who retrieved Kerala from the sea by throwing his axe.The pilgrimage begins in the month of November and ends in January. The temple attracts pilgrims not only from the southern states of India, but also from other parts of the country and abroad. The temple is located on a hillock in the midst of a vast valley surrounded on all sides by to the mountain ranges covered with lush tropical forests.
The asura princess Mahishi was burning up with anger at the trick the gods had pulled on her brother,the asura king Mahishasura. As Mahishasura was blessed with invulnerability to all men,the gods had sent goddess Durga,to kill him.Thus,Mahishi began performing a fearsome set of austerities, and pleased the creator god Brahma.She asked for the boon of invulnerability, but Brahma said it was not possible so Mahishi planned and asked invulnerability to all men except by the son of Shiva and Vishnu. He granted her the boon of ruling the universe and being invulnerable except by the son of Shiva and Vishnu. Since such a person did not exist, she thought she was safe and began conquering and plundering the world.
Sannidanam:
Sanidanam is a central Shrine of the Sabarimala temple.According to Legend,The Temple of Shabharimala and the diety of Ayyappa have always been regarded as the Pandalam Raja’s very own,and it is not considered proper to proceed to the temple without the King’s Knowledge and permission,a representative of the king sits even today,on a raised platform at the base of the Neelima Hill. The Layout of the Ayyappa temple is believed to have originated from the specific instructions of the Lord himself,who wanted Malikappurathamma,on his left a few yards from sannidhanam,and his trusted lieutenants Vavur and Kadutha to be positioned as his guards at the foot of the holy 18 steps.
The Shrine and the golden flag-staff, Originally made of rock the Sannidhanam is now gold-plated and has intricate designs on its outer walls. Climbing the Sacred steps ,the pilgrim reaches the focusing point of is austerities. This exemplifies the unique feature of the temple. The temple is open to all faiths. The divine qualities like equality, fraternity, tolerance, humanity etc.. are shining well in the pilgrims. The doors within open to Eternity and the reassuring Grace Divine ,which makes him more free,harmonious and peaceful. Now the pilgrim moves towards the shrine of Lord Ganesha , known as Kannimoola Ganapathi and the shrine of Lord Kaarhikeya for worship. Then he proceeds southwards to worship the Divine Mother , Maalikappurath –amma ,whose shrine is located a little away towards the left side of Lord Ayyappa’s shrine. The main offering here is the rolling of the coconut around the shrine .Behind the shrine of Maalikappurath-amma, a little away towards the east is a structure called Manimandapam ,where the reprersentative of the kingof Pandalam takes rest on his arrival in sabarimal . Close to it are the seats of the deities kochu kadutha Swami and Karuppa Swami. The coconut filled with ghee is takenout from it .He breaks the coconut and drains out the ghee into a vessel . Carrying this vessels ,he joins a separate queue meant foe Neyyabhishekam. The pilgrims on their sojourn to Sabarimala worship at Erumeli Sree Dharma Sastha Temple and conduct "Petta Thullal". They also worship in the mosque at Erumeli as a part of their pilgrimage.
At the first sight of the Patinettampadi, the holy eighteen steps, a full throated cry goes up from the devotees, "Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa!" It is the realisation of a mission .
Homakunda:There used to be a large homakunda in front of the shrine, which burned constantly, fed by the coconut shells thrown by the devotees, after offering the ghee. As the coconut shells gets consumed by the fire, the sins of the devotees are believed to be cleansed. Due to the growing crowds in the temple, the homakunda has now been shifted to a location below the temple.
Bhasma Kulam: About a 100 metres away is the shrine of Malikappurathamma. En route to the shrine is the temple tank, Bhasma Kulam, in which hundreds of devotees take a holy bath in memory of the tapaswini Sabari who entered a fire to end her mortal life. It is after her that the peak is named Sabarimala.On account of the number of people who bathe in the tank, the water is frequently drained out and refilled with fresh water.
Malikappurathamma: The Malikappurathamma temple houses the shrines of the Devi and Kaduthaswamy. Devotees also worship a trident and lamp here, and offer coconuts. The coconuts are not broken, however, but are just rolled on the ground .
The shrine gets thronged with devotees especially during the main pilgrim season from November to January. Mandala pooja (December12,2011) A pilgrim attending the Mandalapooja should observe austerities for 41 days. During this period, the pilgrim should abstain himself from non vegetarian food and carnal pleasures. Pilgrims set out in groups under a leader, and each carry a cloth bundle called Irumudi kettu containing traditional offerings.
Makaravilakku(Jan.15th,2012) are the two main events of the pilgrim season. The temple stays closed during the rest of the year except for the first five days of every Malayalam month and during Vishu (April). To the left of this temple are the shrines of the snake god and goddess, Nagaraja and Nagayakshi. Here, tribals beat on drums, play stringed instruments and sing sarppa pattu to protect devotees and their progeny from the harmful effects of snakebites.
Legend:
The asura princess Mahishi was burning up with anger at the trick the gods had pulled on her brother,the asura king Mahishasura. As Mahishasura was blessed with invulnerability to all men,the gods had sent goddess Durga,to kill him.Thus,Mahishi began performing a fearsome set of austerities, and pleased the creator god Brahma.She asked for the boon of invulnerability, but Brahma said it was not possible so Mahishi planned and asked invulnerability to all men except by the son of Shiva and Vishnu. He granted her the boon of ruling the universe and being invulnerable except by the son of Shiva and Vishnu. Since such a person did not exist, she thought she was safe and began conquering and plundering the world.
The gods implored Shiva and Vishnu to save them from this catastrophe. Vishnu found a possible solution to the problem. When Vishnu had taken on the Kurma Avatar, he also had to manifest himself as Mohini, the enchantress, to save the nectar of immortality from the demons who were not willing to share it with the gods. If he became Mohini again, then the female Mohini and the male Shiva could have the divine child who would combine their powers and beat Mahishi.
Shiva called to Lord Vishnu for help. He hid himself in a peepal tree as Bhasmasura ran here and there searching for the god. Vishnu became aware of the events, and decided that he would take the female form Mohini, "the Enchanting", and try to trump the asura's powers. He earnestly tried to court her. So Vishnu instructed Bhasmasura to hold his hand over his head, and vow fidelity. With this act, Bhasmasura was reduced to ashes.
Vishnu found Shiva and explained the whole affair to him. Shiva asked if he too could see Vishnu in this female form. When Vishnu appeared thus, Shiva was overcome with passion, and united with her. The two gods thus became "Harihara Murthi", that is a composite form of Shiva and Vishnu as one god.
It is believed Sri Ayyappa merged to sri dharma sastha. Lord Vishnu gifted the new-born deity with a little bejeweled bell necklace, so this god is called Manikanthan Swamy. He is also called as Shasthappan by most South Indian communities.In most Tamil versions of the story, the legend ends with the birth of the god, and with his passage around the region. But in Kerala, the story continues with Ayyappan's adoption by the Pandalam Raja, and the subsequent encounter with Mahisi.
King Rajasekhara was very talented,courageous and just in his deeds.People were living happily and prosperously during his regime.However the king was very unhappy that he had no children and his subjects also worried that he had no heir to inherit his kingdom.As per the wish of the queen,both of them payed Lord Shiva for blessing them with a child.
Kaduthaswamy and Karuppaswamy:
At the foot of the Patinettampadi are the two shrines of Kaduthaswamy and Karuppaswamy, who stand like dwarapalakas or guardians of the holy steps, to ensure that they are not polluted by those who tread on them without fulfilling the rigid austerities required of them. They are also believed to protect the devotees from the evil spirits of the forests.
History:
Ayyappan also known as Ayyan who belonged to tha VellalarKulam.He was the army chief of the Pandalam Family,lived with his uncle Perisseri of Erumeli,Kottayam dist,Kerala. Ayyan was instrumental in the defeat of Udayanan, who attacked Sabarimala and tried to demolish the ancient Sastha temple in the thick forest of present Pathanamthitta district. Meanwhile the Royal family of King Pandya had migrated from Tamilnadu about 800 years back. The King reconstructed the destroyed Sastha temple at Sabarimala with the help of Ayyan, Vavar, a Muslim youth from Kanjirappally, Kadutha, a Nair youth from Muzhukeer, Chenganoor, Alapuzha dist.After the demise of Ayyappan people thought that he was the avathar of Lord Sastha and began to worship him. Later Ayyappan and Sastha became synonymous.Some say that Ayyappan was the son of a Brahmin but Nalankal Krishna Pillai in his book "Mahashekthrangalkkumunpil" states that Brahmins never had the name Ayyappan .
In the age old "Elavarsevampattu" it was clearly mentioned that Ayyan(Ayyappa) belonged to "Vellalar kulam, Near Erumeli, Kottayam, Kerala.There still exists a vellala house called Puthenveedu in Erumely. In the same compound there is a 300 year old, thatched, depleted, mud house, the house of Perissery Pillai, Ayyappan's uncle and the Vellal Chieftain of Erumeli. There even today one can see the ancient sword used by Ayyappan to kill the monstrous Eruma- mahisham. The place where the "eruma" was killed became Erumakolly and later Erumeli.
Sabarimala pilgrimers ,Ayyappans, conduct the Erumeli Pettaithullal (Pettatullal is painting the face with colours and dancing with wooden weapons to make one look odd. The essence of this practice is to give up ones ego and surrender to Lord Ayyappa. )This is to commemmorate the killing of mahisham by Ayyan and is celelebrated during the month of December-January every year
Golden 18 Steps:
The Ayyappa Temple contains the 18 Golden Steps,Those are Built on a plateau about 40 feet high,the Ayyappan temple commands a lofty view of the mountains and valleys al around. The ancient temple has been rebuilt after a fire in 1950, consisting of a sanctum sanctorum with a copper-plated roof and four golden finials at the top, two mandapams, the belikalpura which houses the altar,and the flag-staff. Replacing the earlier stone image of the deity is a beautiful idol of Ayyappa in panchaloha, an alloy of five metals, about one and a half feet.
- First 5 steps signify the five indriyas or the senses(eyes,nose,ears,skin and tongue).
- The 8 steps are the Raagas(tatwa,Kama,Krodha,moha,lobha,madha,mastraya and ahamkara).
- The Next 3 the gunas(satwa,rajas and thamas)
- Last Steps are followed by Vidya and Vaydya.
An Ayyappa devotee crosses the Pathinettaam padi only twice during his sojourn on Sabarimala - for entering the temple and to go downhill. Before ascending or descending the steps, pilgrims break coconut as an offering to the steps. One needs to have the sacred Irumudi on head while going up or down the 18 steps and while descending the steps the devotees climb down backwards facing the sanctum sanctorum.
Makara Jyothi:
The most important occasion at Sabarimala is the Makara Jyothi (usually on January 14th). Thiruvabharanam or the sacred jewels of the Lord Ayyappa arrives at Sabarimala in three boxes. On the arrival of the jewel boxes the whole mountain reverberates to the chanting of 'Saranam Ayyappa' by millions of devotees gathered there to watch the event.
The Thiruvabharanam box - still the private property of the Pandalam royal family,It contains a diamond crown, golden bracelets, necklaces and a sword. The priests adorn the Lord with these and perform arathi., The Royal Family starts its journey two days before Makara Jyothi day from Pandalam. The person who carries the box dances in a peculiar trance. Thiruvabharanam travels through Valiakoikkal Sastha temple at Pandalam, Ayiroor Puthia Kavu Temple, Perunattil temple, Vlakkai, Nilaikkal Siva temple, Vellachimala, Pamba and Sabari Peedam before reaching at Sannidhanam around 6.00 PM on the Makara Jyothi day. Every year a Garuda hovers and flies above the Thiruvabharanam boxes as if to guard them.
Makara Vilakku Festival:
After the Makara jyothi, that night Malikappurathuamma, mounted on an elephant comes in a procession to the Patinettampadi (18 Golden steps ) and returns back to her abode. This is the beginning of the Makara Vilakku festival. This festival lasts for seven days.
Even some who leave Sabarimala after witnessing the Jothi observe fasting till the Makara Villaku and Kuruthi pooja is complete at Sabarimala.
Other festivals :
- Onam
- MandalaPooja
- Pankuni Uthram
- Vishu
The Ayyappa pooja procedure is as Follows:
1. Ganapathy Pooja
(Offer workship to Ganesh's Photo / Idol / Deepam)
2. Sri Ayyappan Pooja
Ayyappan Mala Mantram-(Mantram to wear the mala)
Ayyappan Astottaram
Ayyappan Saranam- (108 saranams)
Ayyappan Moola Mantram
Ayyappan Gayathri
Ayyappan Namaskaram
Harivarasanam
Mantram for taking off mala: (This has to be recited after coming home from Sabarimala and before removing the Sacred Mala).
108 Sharana Ghosham:
Say 'Saranam Ayyappa' after saying each line.
1. Swamiyae
2. Harihara sutane
3. Kannimoola ganapati bhagavaanae
4. Shakti vadivelan sodaranae
5. Maalikappurattu manjammadevi lokamathavae
6. Vaavar Swamiyae
7. Karuppanna Swamiyae
8. Periya kadutta Swamiyae
9. Siriya kadutta Swamiyae
10. Vanadevata maarae
11. Durga bhagavati maarae
12. Achchan kovil arasae
13. Anaatha rakshakanae
14. Anna dhana prabhuvae
15. Achcham tavirpavanae
16. Ambalathu arasanae
17. Abhaya daayakanae
18. Ahandai azhippavanae
19. Ashtasiddhi daayakanae
20. Andinorai aadarikkum deivamae
21. Azhutayil vaasanae
22. Aaryangaavu Ayyaavae
23. Aapad baandhavanae
24. Ananda jyotiyae
25. Aatma swaroopiyae
26. Aanaimukhan thambiyae
27. lrumudi priyanae
28. lnnalai teerppavanae
29. ega para suka daayakanae
30. idaya kamala vaasanae
31. Eedillaa inbam alippavanae
32. Umaiyaval baalakanae
33. Oomaikku arul purindavanae
34. Oozhvinai akatruvonae
35. Ookkam alippavanae
36. Engum niraindoenae
37. Enillaa roopanae
38. En kula deivamae
39. En guru naathanae
40. Erumeli vaazhum kraada -shaastaavae
41. Engum nirainda naada brahmamae
42. Ellorkkum arul puribavanae
43. Aetrumaanoorappan maganae
44. Aekaantha vaasiyae
45. Aezhaikkarul puriyum eesanae
46. Aindumalai vaasanae
47. Aiyyangal teerppavanae
48. Opillaa maanikkamae
49. Omkaara parabramamae
50. Kaliyuga varadanae
51. Kan.kanda deivamae
52. Kambankudiku udaiya naathanae
53. Karunaa samudramae
54. Karpoora jyotiyae
55. Sabari giri vaasanae
56. Shatru samhaara moortiyae
57. Sharanaagata rakshakanae
58. Sharana ghosha priyanae
59. Shabarikku arul purindavanae
60. Shambhukumaaranae
61. Satya swaroopanae
62. Sankatam teerppavanae
63. Sanchalam azhippavanae
64. Shanmukha sodaranae
65. Dhanvantari moortiyae
66. Nambinorai kaakkum deivamae
67. Narttana priyanae
68. Pantala raajakumaaranae
69. Pambai baalakanae
70. Parasuraama poojithanae
71. Bhakta jana rakshakanae
72. Bhakta vatsalanae
73. Paramashivan puthiranae
74. Pambaa vaasanae
75. Parama dayaalanae
76. Manikanda porulae
77. Makara jyotiyae
78. Vaikkathu appan makanae
79. Kaanaka vaasanae
80. Kulattu puzhai baalakanae
81. Guruvaayoorappan makanae
82. Kaivalya pada daayakanae
83. Jaati mata bhedam illathavanae
84. Shivashakti Aikya svaroopanae
85. Sevippavarku aananda moorthiyae
86. Dushtar bhayam neekkubavanae
87. Devaadi devanae
88. Devargal tuyaram teerppavanae
89. Devendra poojitanae
90. Naaraayananmynthanae
91. Neiabhisheka priyanae
92. Pranava svaroopanae
93. Paapa samhaara moortiyae
94. Paayaasanna priyanae
95. Vanpuli vaagananae
96. Varapradaayaganae
97. Bhaagavatottamanae
98. Ponambala vaasanae
99. Mohini sutane
100. Mohana roopanae
101. Villan villaali veeranae
102. Veeramani kantanae
103. Sadguru nathanae
104. Sarva rokanivaarakanae
105. Sachithananda sorupiyae
106. Sarvaabheestha thayakanae
107. Saasvatapadam alippavanae
108. Patinettaam padikkutaiyanaadhane
Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa
Om Adiyen terindum teriyaamalum seida
sakala Kutrangalaiyum poruttu kaattu rakshittu
arula vendum, Shree satyamaana ponnu
patinettaam padimel vaazhum om Shree
Harihara sutan kaliyugavaradan aananda
chittan ayyan Ayyappa Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa.
