Sabarimale Swami Ayappa



The Puranas say that Lord Ayyappa took birth in the Earth as the son of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu when Lord Vishnu was in the Avatara of Mohini,therefore Lord Ayyappa is called as Hari Hara Putra. The Sabarimalay Temple is situated on a Hill, which is surrounded by thick forests and hills. In order to reach to the Lotus feet of Lord Ayyappa, the devotees have to climb these hills. It requires a preparation of 41 days of fasting and leading a life which is totally devoted to the Lord.

The idol of Lord Ayyappa is installed in the Sabarimalay temple by the Sage Parasurama. The temple was built by the foster father of Lord Ayyappa, who was the King of a local kingdom in ancient Kerala called 'Pandalam'. To reach the Lord Ayyappa the devotees have to climb 18 steps. 18 steps represent 18 Vana Devtas. It is believed that the first 5 steps represent the five Senses. The next 8 Steps represent the Ashta Ragas. The next 3 steps represent Trigunas. The last 2 steps represent Vidya & Avidya.

Devotees offer Pujas for Lord Ayyappa to get rid of the evils of Shani. They believe that offering Neelanjanam in Ayyappa temple on Saturdays enhances the auspicious aspects of Shani Dosha & keeps them away from the Sade-Sathi (Doshas). Devotees avoid non-vegetarian food on Saturdays and pay a visit to the Ayyappa Temple to rededicate their devotion.

Lord Ayyappan is worshipped in a number of shrines across India: at Kulathupuzha, in Kerala, he is worshipped as a child; at Achenkovil in conjunction with his consorts, Pushkala and Poorna; and at Sabarimala as an ascetic - a celibate meditating in solitude for the benefit of all mankind.

The name "Ayyappan" is used as a respectful form of address in Malayalam, and the famous mantra Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa can be directly translated as Give me shelter, Lord Ayyappa! He is considered to be born out of the union between Mohini (Vishnu) and Shiva.
The most famous Ayyappa shrine in India is the one at Sabarimala with over 50 million devotees visiting it every year, making it the second largest pilgrimage in the world.

Dharmasasta, Hariharasudhan, Manikandan, Sathanar, Sastan, Cattan (from Sanskrit Sasta), Ayyanar, Natrayan, Nattarasan, Bhutanathan, Pandala Raja, and Pamba Vaasan

Legends and stories on the incarnation of Swami Ayappa

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 fight and kill him. Thus, Mahishi began performing a fearsome set of austerities, and pleased the creator god Brahma. He granted her the boon of ruling the universe and being invulnerable except to a being that had the combined strength of both 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.
Some versions give a sightly more detailed version of the union of Shiva with Vishnu. One version tells that the asura Basmasura had so pleased lord Shiva with his austerities that Shiva gave him a boon of anything he wished. So Basmasura asked for the ability to burn to ashes anything which he placed his hand over. No sooner had Shiva granted this, than Basmasura ran after the god, threatening to turn him to ashes.


Shiva called to lord Vishnu for help. He hid himself in a certain tree as Basmasura 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. When Basmasura saw Vishnu in this form, he was bewitched by her beauty. He earnestly tried to court her. So Vishnu instructed Basmasura to hold his hand over his head, and vow fidelity. With this act, Basmasura 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" (Shiva's seed caught in Mohini's hands, per one version of the story). The two gods thus became "HariHara Murthy", that is a composite form of Shiva and Vishnu as one god.
From this union lord Ayyappan was born. He combines in himself the powers of Vishnu and Shiva, and is a visible embodiment of their essential identity. Lord Vishnu gifted the new-born deity with a little bejeweled bell necklace, so this god is called Manikanthan Swamy. The Tamils call him Ayyanar, and he is also called Shastha or 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-Pandalam, Kerala.


At that time, Raja Rajasekhara ruled the kingdom of Pandalam. During one of his hunting expeditions, the Raja was puzzled to hear the wails of a child on the banks of the River Pampa. He moved in the direction of the voice to find a resplendent infant there. The beautiful baby with radiant face wore a gemstone (precious stone) around his neck, hence the name Manikantan ("Mani", means gemstone and "kantan" means wearer around the neck). Manikantan was born of Hari (Lord Vishnu) and Hara (Lord Shiva), with Hari assuming the form of a female (Mohini). Hence Ayyappan is also named as Hariharasutan (Sutan meaning Son).



The king, though pious, charitable, just, and God-fearing, had no children. The king was an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva and his queen was devotee of Lord Vishnu. They had prayed to their respective deities for blessings in the form of a child. He accepted the child as God's gracious response to his fervent prayer for an heir to his throne. Manikantan was given proper education and training and he grew into a boy well versed in academic lore and martial arts of the time like Kalaripayattu. The Cheerappanchira kalari at Muhamma, in Alappuzha District was responsible for his training in the martial arts. Meanwhile the Rani (Queen) gave birth to a son, however the king regarded Manikantan as his elder son and decided to crown him as the Yuvaraja (heir).



Since the minister of the Raja was always against Manikantan becoming the Yuvaraja, he along with his sycophants turned the queen against the king's decision. On the coronation day of Manikantan as Yuvaraja, the queen pretended to be suffering from unbearable stomach ache, and said she was unable to get any relief from the treatment of any doctor (Vaidya).
Finally a fake practitioner appeared at the instance of the minister, and prescribed "the milk of a tigress" as the cure of the queen's illness. The king appealed to one and all to get the tigeress-milk, but no-one dared. At last, Manikantan volunteered and went to the forest in search of tigress Milk, despite the king's attempt to stop him. The king was deeply frightened that the deemed Yuvaraja may not come back alive.