Sabarimala

The Bhutanatha Upakhyanam tells how Parashurama raised Keralam from the sea and asked the Lord to protect it. Shastha agreed to stay and told Parashurama to build temples for him, and tradition counts 108 shrines, the Nuttiettu Shasthalayangal. Kulathupuzha is one of the most loved of them.

The temple sits in the forest on the Thiruvananthapuram–Shenkottah road, on the banks of the Kulathupuzha, a tributary of the Kallada River. The Lord is worshipped here as Bala Shastha, the child Veeramanikantan. The story goes that an elderly Brahmin was on his way home from Rameswaram and tried to break a stone to rest his cooking pot on. Blood flowed from the stone, and he realized the Lord was present in it. The Lord is still worshipped in that broken stone, and a Panchaloha vigraha was added later for alankaram. In the tradition of the six Shastha kshetras, Kulathupuzha stands for the Anahata, the heart chakra.

Aryankavu lies 22 km from Shenkottah on the Tamil Nadu border. In ancient times this place was called Arya Vanam, and the temple sits 35 feet below the road. Tradition holds it to be the foremost of the temples Parashurama established. The Lord appears with agni kesham, hair like flames, holding a bunch of flowers, and his Panchaloha murti glows with majesty.

Aryankavu also has a love story. A silk merchant’s daughter from the Sourashtra weaving community of Madurai was devoted to the Lord, and she stayed at the temple while her father traveled to Thiruvananthapuram. On his way back, a wild elephant charged him and a hunter saved his life. The hunter asked for the daughter’s hand, and the father agreed. That night the Lord came to the priests in a dream and asked them to bring the girl dressed as a bride. In the morning she was gone. When the sanctum was opened, the Lord stood there as Kalyana Sundaran, wearing the shawl the merchant had given the hunter, with a small image of Pushkala beside him. The Travancore Devaswom Board still holds the Thrikalyanam every Dhanu month, and the Sourashtra community takes part as the bride’s family. The temple is linked to the Manipura chakra.

Achankovil is deep in the forest. Pilgrims drive through winding roads and villages, and even cross into Tamil Nadu, before they reach it. The Skanda, Padma and Brahmanda Puranas call the Lord Poorna Pushkala Samedhan, and here he appears as Manikanta Muthaiyan with Poorna and Pushkala on either side. They stand for Iccha Shakti and Kriya Shakti, the powers of divine will and divine action. Achankovil is one of the few temples where the original vigraha installed by Parashurama is still worshipped. In ancient times Siddhas worshipped the Lord here with the Vedic Sarpa Suktam, and the temple is still famous for curing snake bites. The temple is linked to the Svadhishthana chakra.

Erumeli is about 60 km from Kottayam and was once called Mahishi Marika Vanam. Here the Lord, who loves the forest (poongaavanam), is Kiratha Shastha, the divine hunter, and Petta Shastha. Every year pilgrims dance the Petta Thullal here. Custom asks only Kanni Ayyappans, first-time pilgrims, to dance, but about half of all pilgrims join in.

The main day is 27 Dhanu, around January 10, when the Ambalapuzha and Alangadu yogams lead the dance. The Ambalapuzha group starts only after a Krishna parunthu (kite) circles over the Kochambalam, opposite the mosque of Vavar. Devotees believe the kite is Garuda bringing Sree Krishna of Ambalapuzha to watch. The Alangadu group waits for a bright star to appear at noon. Some say the dance remembers Ayyappan and his companion Vavar preparing their army. Others say people danced for joy when the Lord killed the fierce buffalo demon (eruma), which gave the town its name. Erumeli is linked to the Vishuddha chakra.

Sabarimala rises about 3,000 feet in the Western Ghats. Here the Lord sits as a Mahayogi in the Harivarasanam posture, his knees bound by the yogapattam and his hand in chinmudra. In that mudra the index finger is the individual soul and the thumb is Brahman, and their touch shows the Upanishadic truth Tat Tvam Asi, “You are That.” Tradition calls Sabarimala a Mahayoga Peetham, and in the six-kshetra tradition it is the Ajna chakra, where the pilgrim’s journey reaches the third eye.

According to the Bhutanatha Upakhyanam, rishis and yogis meditating at Veliyanavattam built a golden temple for Manikantan. When his avatar was complete, he returned there and merged into its sacred seat. That subtle shrine is linked to Ponnambalamedu, where the Makara Jyothi appears.

Pilgrims go under a Guruswami. They keep a 42-day vratam, wear rudraksha or tulasi malas and black, saffron or blue clothes, and carry the Irumudi on their heads. It holds a coconut filled with ghee for the Lord’s abhishekam. At darshan, many devotees shed tears of joy, and most return year after year. At Sabarimala everyone is equal: the devotee and the deity share the same name, Ayyappa or Swami. Male pilgrims are called Ayyappans and female pilgrims Malikappurams. The shrine opens from mid-November to mid-January and for the first five days of every Malayalam month.