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| Sabarimala Temple, Kerala |
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 The
unique feature of the Temple is that it opens to
people of all faiths and many non-hindus conduct
pilgrimages to this temple. The secular aspect of
the temple is best exemplified by the existence
of the "Vavar Nada" in honour of a Muslim
saint at the close proximity to the main temple
(Ayyappa Swami Temple) at Sabarimala by the side
of Holy Pathinettampady. The pilgrims worship in
this place also. 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. Sabarimala is a renowned pilgrim
centre atop the rugged hills of the Western Ghats.
This holy shrine is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. The
sanctum sanctoram nestles 914 m above sea level,
amidst the virgin forest wilderness of the Western
Ghats. The Village of Sabarimala is named after
Shabari who did severe penance in order to meet
Rama who granted her wish for her devotion and faith
during her penance. Sabarimala Sri Dharmasastha
Temple is the most famous and prominent among all
the Sastha Temples. It is believed that "Parasurama
Maharshi" who uplifted Kerala from the sea
by throwing his axe, installed the idol of Ayyappa
at Sabarimala to worship Lord Ayyappa. 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. Ayyappa cult gives much importance
for the secularism and communal harmony and has
turn out to be a model for the whole world. Another
significant aspect of the pilgrimage is that all
the pilgrims whether rich or poor, learned or illiterate
holding position or not master or servant are all
equal before LORD AYYAPPA and all address each other
as AYYAPPA. The divine qualities like equality,
fraternity, tolerance, humanity etc.. are shining
well in the pilgrims.
According to legend, the temple of Sabarimala and
the deity 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. To make
it easy for pilgrims to obtain the necessary permission,
a representative of the king sits even today, with
all the royal insignia, on a raised platform at
the base of the Neelimala Hill. The pilgrims offer
a token amount to the royal representative, and
receive vibhuti from him. This marks the beginning
of the steepest climb of the pilgrimage, the 3 km
trek up the majestic Neelimala Hill, atop which
sits Lord Ayyappa in all his glory. The pilgrims
wind their way up the difficult trail in an unending
stream, the hill reverberating with the constant
chanting of thousands. 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. Built on a plateau about 40 feet high,
the Ayyappan temple commands a lofty view of the
mountains and valleys all 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
tall.
There are several explanations regarding the significance
of the Patinettampadi, but in all of them, the emphasis
is on the number 18. One popular belief is that
the first 5 steps signify the five indriyas or senses,
the next 8 the ragas, the next 3 the gunas, followed
by vidya and avidya. Crossing these would take the
devotee closer to self-realisation. Finally, at
the eighteenth step, the devotee is at last face
to face with the image of the Lord Ayyappa, or Dharma
Sasta. A circumambulation brings him right in front
of the sanctum sanctorum, and the pilgrim is filled
with a sense of accomplishment and utter peace.
But there is one more thing to be done – the
ghee abhisheka, or bathing of the idol in ghee,
which marks the culmination of the pilgrimage. The
ghee-filled coconut which the pilgrim has carried
in the front section of his irumudi is broken, and
the ghee is offered to the deity. Another important
abhisheka is of vibhuti, which is also brought by
the devotee in his irumudi. To the south-west of
the main temple is the shrine of Lord Ganapati,
known as Kannimula Ganapati. The special offering
to this deity is Ganapati homan; and 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 are 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.
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.
Situated on a small hillock, 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 around the temple.
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.
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.
According to legend, Kadutha was a great warrior
who helped the Pandalam king defeat the armies of
Udayanan and other enemies. When the king came to
Sabarimalai to reconstruct the temple, Kadutha came
with him to protect him. Ultimately, he became so
attached to Ayyappa that he decided to spend the
rest of his days with his Lord. Also near the Patinettampadi
is the shrine of the Muslim Vavurswami. While there
are several accounts of identity of Vavur, it is
generally believed that he was a warrior who was
defeated and subdued by Ayyappa, and later became
a close associate. It is believed that Lord Ayyappa
himself instructed the Pandalam king to build a
mosque for Vavur at Erumuli and a shrine at Sabarimalai.
The Vavur deity is believed to be as old as the
original deity of Ayyappa himself, and records show
that the shrine was renovated sometime in 1905.
Here, the poojas are conducted by a Muslim priest.
There is no distinguishable idol, but a carved stone
slab that represents the deity. A green silken cloth
is hung across one wall, and there is also an old
sword. The special offering here is green pepper.
Many devotees also bring a goat to offer to Vavurswami,
mainly in the belief that pilgrims accompanied by
a goat will reach the temple safely. These goats
are later auctioned by the temple authorities. 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.
On reaching the Sannidhanam the Melshanthi and Thandhri
receive the sacred jewels amidst of thundering echoes
of Sarana ghosham. The Thiruvabaranam box contains
a diamond crown, golden bracelets, necklaces and
a sword. The priests adorn the Lord with these and
perform arathi. At the same moment a brilliant light
of amazing magnificence appears in the northeastern
side to the temple at opposite mountain in a place
called Kantamala (the home of devas and rishis).
It is believed that this brilliant flame of light
is the arathi performed by the rishis and the devas.
This event marks the culmination of the pilgrimage
to Sabarimala. The most anticipated event at Sabarimala
is the Makara Jothi (usually on January 14th). Thiruvabaranam
or the sacred jewels of the Lord (presented by Padalam
King) 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
Thiruvabaranam box - still the private property
of the Pandalam royal family, starts it journey
two days before Makara Jothi day from Pandalam.
The person who carries the box dances in a trance
that can be believed only by who witnesses it. Thiruvabaranam
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 Jothi day. Every year a Garuda
hovers and flies above the Thiruvabaranam boxes
as if to guard them. |
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