Sabarimala Sree Dharmasastha Temple is a temple complex located at Sabarimala inside Periyar Tiger Reserve in
Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in
the world with an estimate of between 17 million and 50 million devotees
visiting every year. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu celibate deity
Ayyappan also known as Dharma Sastha, who according to belief is the son
of Shiva and feminine incarnation of Vishnu. The traditions of Sabarimala are a
confluence of Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and other Sramaṇa traditions.
The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst
eighteen hills at an altitude of 480 m (1,574 ft) above sea level,
and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the
Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as Poongavanam. Temples exist
in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala. While functional and intact temples
exist at many places in the surrounding areas like Nilakkal, Kalaketty, and
Karimala, remnants of old temples survive to this day on remaining hills.
The temple is open for worship only during the
days of Mandalapooja (approximately 15 November to 26 December), Makaravilakku
or "Makara Sankranti" (14 January) and Maha Vishuva Sankranti (14
April), and the first five days of each Malayalam month.
The worship of Sastha forms part of the very
ancient history of south India. At Sabarimala, the deity is worshiped as
Ayyappan and as Dharmashasta. The shrine of Sabarimala is an ancient temple. It
is believed that the prince of Pandalam dynasty, an avatar of Ayyappan,
meditated at Sabarimala temple and became one with the divine. The place where
the prince meditated is the Manimandapam.
There are many Sastha temples in South India
and across the globe. As per the temple history, the Sastha temple at
Sabarimala is one of the five Sastha temples founded by Lord Parasurama. The
other Sastha temples in this group of five includes the Ayyappan Temples: at
Kulathupuzha, where the Sastha appears as a Balaka or child; at Aryankavu where
the Lord appears as a Brahmachari or young man; at Achankovil Shastha Temple,
where the lord leads the Grihastha Ashrama life here and depicted along with
his two wives – Purna and Pushkala at Sabarimala, where the lord is depicted in
the Vanaprastha or form of renunciation; at Ponnambala Medu the Lord appears as
a yogi and where the "makaravilaku' is lit.
After the installation of the temple, it was
mostly unreachable for about three centuries. In the 12th century, a prince of
Pandalam Dynasty, called Manikandan, rediscovered the original path to reach
Sabarimala. He had many followers with him, including the descendants of the
Vavar (a Muslim warrior whom Manikandan defeated) family. This prince is
considered an avatar of Ayyappa, and is believed to have led a pack of tigers
to his palace with Vavar and then later disappeared to the Sabarimala temple.
The temple was then renovated.
In 1821, the kingdom of Pandalam was added to
Travancore. 48 major temples including the Sabarimala temple were also added to
Travancore. The idol was erected in 1910.
The Sannidhanam (main temple) is built on a
plateau about 40 feet high.
The temple was rebuilt after arson and vandalism in 1950.
No charges were brought and the earlier stone image of the deity was replaced
by a panchaloha idol, about 1 and half feet, made from an alloy from five
metals.
The temple consists of a sanctum sanctorum with a
gold-plated roof and four golden finials at the top, two mandapams, the balikalpura
which houses the altar. In 1969, the flag staff (dhwajam) was installed.
The shrine of Kannimoola ganapathi prathishta is
south-west to The Sreekovil of the Sannidhanam. Devotees offer part of the
broken coconut (Neythenga) to the fireplace (Azhi). Ganapathi homam is the main
offering.
The shrine of the Lord of snakes, Nagarajav is
placed adjacent to the malikappuram temple. Pilgrims after the Darsan of Lord
Ayyappa and Kannimoola Ganapathi, make their darsan and give offerings to
Nagarajav.
The Pathinettu thripadikal or the 18 sacred
steps is the main stairway to the temple. As per the custom followed, no
pilgrim without "Irumudikkettu" can ascend the 18 sacred steps. In
1985, the 18 steps were covered by panchaloka and later covered with gold. The
stairway in northern gate is open for those who do not carry an
"Irumudikkettu".
The temples of Lord Ayyappan's trusted
lieutenants Karuppu Sami and Kadutha Swami are positioned as his guards
at the foot of the holy 18 sacred steps.
The temple of Maalikapurathamma, whose
importance is almost in par with Lord Ayyappa, is located few yards from
Sannidhanam. It is believed that the Lord Ayyapan had specific instructions
that he wanted Malikappurath Amma, on his left side. Prior to the fire
disaster, there was only a Peeda Prathishta (holy seat) at Malikappuram. The
idol of Malikappurath Amma was installed by Brahmasree Kandararu
Maheswararu Thanthri. The Devi at Malikappuram holds a Sankh, Chakram and
Varada Abhya Mudra. Now the idol is covered with a gold Golaka. The temple also
was reconstructed in the last decade and now the conical roof and sopanam
is covered with gold.
Manimandapam, is the place where Ayyappan Jeeva samadhi (Arya kerala jeevasamadhi).
The Sabarimala temple complex include Pampa
Ganapathi temple, Nilakal Mahadeva temple and Palliyara
Bhagavathi temple. The Nilakal Mahadeva temple and Palliyara Bhagavathi
temple is as old as the Sastha temple and the deities are worshiped as the
parents of Lord Ayyappa. Ganapathi temple at Pampa has Pampa Maha Ganapathi
and Athi Ganapathi (lit. old ganapathy), sreekovil where the idol from
the first Ganapathy temple is worshiped. Sabari Peedam has a temple of
Sri Rama and Hanuman also.
Worship
Prasadam
The prasadam at Sabarimala temple is Aravana
payasam and Appam. These are prepared by using rice, ghee, sugar,
jaggery etc. The rice needed to prepare the prasadam at Sabarimala temple is
supplied by Chettikulangara Devi Temple, the second largest temple under the
TravancoreDevaswom Board situated at Mavelikkara. The Chief Commissioner,
Travancore Devaswom Board said that the board has appointed Central Food
Technological Research Institute, Mysore as a consultant for providing technical
guidance to ensure the quality of Aravana, Appam and other prasadam
preparations at Sabarimala temple.
Harivarasanam
Harivarasanam is recited before closing the temple door every night. The Harivarasanam
prayer, which is sung at Sabarimala is a Urakkupattu. It is composed by Sri
Kambangudi Kulathur Srinivasa Iyer in Sanskrit. It is said that Srinivasa
Iyer used to recite the composition after the Athazha Puja, standing in front
of the shrine of Ayyappa in the main temple. With the efforts of Swami
Vimochanananda, it came to be accepted as the lullaby by the Tantri and
Melshanthi. The composition has 352 letters, 108 words in 32 lines in 8
stanzas.
Though there have been many versions of this
song sung by many renowned vocalists, the temple plays the rendition by K. J.
Yesudas, composed by the renowned music director G. Devarajan, which is in the Madhyamavathi
raga of Indian Carnatic music.
Neyyabhishekam
This significant ritual involves pouring
sacred ghee brought by pilgrims in their Pallikettu or Irumudi (a
two compartment bag made of handwoven cotton cloth used to carry the offerings
for Sabarimala Temple carried on their heads) on the idol of Lord Ayyappa. It
symbolically means the merging of Jeevatma with the Paramatma. While a
red-colored irumudi is used by a pilgrim on his first journey as a Kanni
Ayyappan to Sabarimala, others use navy blue till third year and thereafter
saffron colored irumudi.
Makara Vilakku
Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana met
Sabari, a tribal devotee, at Sabarimala. Sabari offered the Lord fruits after
tasting them. But the Lord accepted them gladly and whole-heartedly. The Lord
then saw a divine person doing tapasya. He asked Sabari who it was. Sabari said
it was Shasta. Rama walked towards him. Shasta stood up and welcomed the Prince
of Ayodhya. The anniversary of this incident is celebrated on Makara Vilakku
day. It is believed that on Makara Vilakku day, Lord Dharmashasta stops his
tapasya to bless his devotees. The day is also called Makara Shankranthi.
Aham Brahmasmi and Tattvamasi
The important message written at the temple
facade is one of the four Mahavakyas of Advaita or the non-dualistic school of
philosophy. Tat Tvam Asi, the 3rd of four Mahavakyas which in sanskrit
translates to "Thou Art That" is the principle philosophy that
governs the temple and pilgrimage. As the pilgrimage is symbolic for the
journey to self-realization that all living beings possess the essence of
Brahman, pilgrims refer to each other as Swami, acknowledging their divinity.
It means, in short, you are part of the
Paramatma which is the quintessence of Advaita philosophy.
Pilgrimage
The devotees are expected to follow a Vratham
(41-day austerity period) prior to the pilgrimage.This begins with wearing of a
special Mala (a chain made of Rudraksha or Tulasi beads is commonly
used, though still other types of chains are available.). During the 41 days of
Vratham, the devotee who has taken the vow, is required to strictly follow the
rules that include follow only a lacto-vegetarian diet (In India, vegetarianism
is synonymous with lacto-vegetarianism), follow celibacy, follow teetotalism,
not use any profanity and have to control the anger, allow the hair and nails
to grow without cutting. They must try their maximum to help others, and see everything
around them as lord Ayyappa. They are expected to bath twice in a day and visit
the local temples regularly and only wear plain black or blue coloured
traditional clothing.
Hundreds of devotees still follow the
traditional mountainous forest path (approximately 61 km) from
Erumely,12.8 km from Vandiperiyar and 8 km from Chalakayam, believed
to be taken by Ayyappa himself. The Erumely route starts from Erumely to Aludha
river, then crosses the Aludha mountain to reach Karivilam thodu. Now comes the
sacred Karimala crossing, from there to Cheriyanavattom, Valliyanavattom and
finally Pamba River. Then they have to climb Neelimala and enter into the
Ganesha-Bettam, Shreerama-Betta Padam. Then comes the Aranmula kottaram, which
is one of the stops of holy journey Thiruvabharana Ghoshayatra (the
grand procession of the divine jewelery).
These days people use vehicles to reach the
Pamba River by an alternate route. From Pamba, all the pilgrims begin trekking
the steep mountain path of Neeli Mala till Sabari Mala. This route is now
highly developed, with emergency shops and medical aid by the sides, and
supporting aid is provided to the pilgrims while climbing the steep slope,
which used to be a mere trail through dense jungle. The elderly pilgrims are
lifted by men on bamboo chairs till the top, on being paid.
Women
According to the "Memoir of the Survey of
the Travancore and Cochin States", published in two volumes by the Madras
government in the 19th century, women of menstruating age were denied entry
into the Sabarimala temple even two centuries ago.
Administration
Administration and legal duties is managed by
Travancore Devasvom Board, an affiliate authority of Government of Kerala.
Thazhamon Madom is the traditional priest family who has powers over the
religious matters to be decided in Sabarimala Temple. Tantri is the highest
priest and is the head of the temple. It's the duty of the family to decide on
religious matters relating to Sabarimala shrine. Tantris are to be present in
all ceremonial Poojas and functions to be held at temple premises and functions
associated with temple. The installation of idols of the temple was also done by
Tantri of this family.
Websites:
No comments:
Post a Comment