Until 10th century AD, almost 85% of the

people in Kerala were Buddhists or Jains.

Following the attack that took place

between 10th and 12th century AD,

Hinduism established itself. It was

Paramara Parasurama (970 AD) who

conquered Kerala and initiated the process

of conversion to Hinduism. This is the

same Parasurama, who is mentioned in

Hindu scriptures, as the one who threw his

axe and reclaimed the land, which he later

gave as gifts to Brahmins. The reference to

‘reclamation’ is to indicate the process of

reclaiming Hindu Dharma from the

influence of Buddhism and Jainism, or the

country from their hold. The battle axe was

the most common weapon used in those

days by the soldiers. Parasurama took

over the Buddhist places of worship and

converted them into Hindu Temples. He

then gave charge of these temples to

Brahmins to run them according to Hindu

rites of worship.

This was followed by the attack of Cholas

(999 to 1102 AD). During this period, the

Buddha vihars were converted into Siva

temples. The Jaina vihars were changed

into temples of Vishnu. The nunneries

(where the Bikshunis lived) became Devi

temples. What we see today as temples of

Dharma Sastha were originally Buddha or

Jaina vihars. (Vihars were Buddhist or

Jaina monastic retreats.)

During the later period, under the

leadership of king of Pandalam, a Buddhist

pilgrimage centre, which is now known as

Sabarimala, was conquered. In this

conquest the king of Pandalam, must have

taken the help of the Muslims residing in

the precincts of Erumeli. As a result, Vavar

(Babar), a muslim commander, finds a

place in this story or legend. All these

events took place around 1600 AD.

The place conqured by the King of

Pandalam, belonged to the Maravars of

Tamilnadu. After the conquest, the king

became a believer in Hinduism. As a

result, this shrine became a centre of

Hindu worship. Both the Saivaites and

Vaishnavaites tried to take control of this

temple. Based on a compromise between

these two groups, the story or legend of

Hariharaputra (son of Vishnu and Siva)

gained popularity. May be in order to ward

any further onslaughts, a temples with 18

narrow steps was built, which made access

to this shrine difficult.

Till recently, Brahmins did not visit this

temple carrying the traditional bundle of

coconuts and rice (Irumudi-kettu). They

called the temple as a Pulaya (lower caste

Hindu) temple. Even today, the clothes

worn by the devotees represent those worn

by the lower castes/tribals.

The Mudra (symbolic gesture) attributed to

Ayyappa is unique, where the index finger

of the hand is kept joined with the thumb,

leaving the other three fingers free. This

symbolizes the steadfast aim of the

devotee to achieve nirvana, by taking

refuge in the three jewels (Triratnas),

Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, the

fundamental commitments of a Buddhist.

(Buddha- the awakened one. Dharma- the

truth and tenets expounded by him.

Sangha- the community following these

principles.) Lord Buddha is popularly

depicted as sitting in Padmasana (lotus

pose) with the fingers of both hands held

in Chinmudra.

There is no class discrimination in

Sabarimala. Everybody is an Ayyappa (a

representative of the deity) or a

Malikapuram (mother godess). Even this

concept has its roots in Buddhism and its

principle of equality. Though people

practiced different professions or crafts,

there was no caste distinction in

Buddhism.

The chanting of Saranam (refuge in God)

is part of Buddhism. Buddham Saranam

Gachhami (I take refuge in the enlightened

One), Sangham Saranam Gachhami (I take

refuge in the community of Bikshus/

Bikshunis,), Dharmam Saranam Gachhami(I

take refuge in the practice of Truth and

righteousness). Today, these have been

changed to ‘Swami Saranam’ and

‘Dharmasastha Saranam’. That is the only

difference.

The affidavit was filed in response to a

notice issued by the court on a petition by

the Indian Young Lawyers Association and

five other women advocates challenging the

ban in vogue for several years.

It said: “Some scholars of ancient Kerala

history say that the Sabarimala Sastha

Prathista was once a Buddhist shrine. The

rituals chanted by worshippers are

synonymous with the ‘Saranathrayam’ of

Buddhist disciples (Budham Saranam

Gachami; Dharmam Saranam Gachami;

Sangham Saranam Gachami).” However, the

government had no intention of creating any

controversy, it said.

It was one of the most unexpected and the

most hurting situation for millions of

Ayyappa Swami devotees when the

Tranvancore Devaswom Board (TDB)

confirmed that the Makara Jyothi that

appears on the edge of the Ponnabalamedu

hill (on the 14th of January, every year) at

Sabarimala is man made.

Every year, millions of Ayyappa Swami

devotees used to visit Sabarimala and the

Temple trust managed to gather crores of

rupees as a revenue. Now the fat is, the

Jyothi that appears on the hill slope is man

made and this “fake” process of creating a

Jyothi has been ongoing from hundreds of

years! So are all Ayyappa swami devotees

been fooled? Are Ayyappa devotees been

misled?

Another interesting fact here is, most people

in the Kerala were aware of this fake

creation of Makara Jyothi. The truth came to

light when the High Court questioned the

temple authorities about the Makara Jyothi,

whether it was natural or a man made one.

The President of Travancore Devaswom

Board then revealed that it was man made.

Sow how is it actually done? Read below –

On every 14th of January at about 7:00 pm,

a few people from the Kerala Forest

Department, Kerala State Electricity Board,

TDB, authorities from the Sabarimala Temple

and a couple of policemen carry 4 – 5 kgs

of camphor (in the form of cubes) in a plate

and a few matchsticks. They then proceed

to the Ponnambalamedu hill, light it and

show it to the devotees thrice. Since the

Sabarimala temple is situated on another

hill opposite to Ponnambalamedu (where the

camphor is lit) and about hundreds of feet

beneath it, the flame that comes out appears

to the devotees as Makara Jyothi but in

reality, it is just the flames that you are

seeing and not the actual Jyothi (light). This

entire process is done by people, along with

the support of Government of Kerala, and is

not due to the miraculous powers of GOD.

So to be honest, all devotees were fooled. Or

better to say, all devotees are being fooled

from hundreds of years.

Sabarimala was actually a Buddhist

shrine and Ayyappa was actually

Buddha, rechristened during the revival

of Hinduism and the subsequent exile of

Buddhism.

“ Dharma Sastha”, the alternate name by

which Ayyappa is known, suggests in

similar lines. “Dharma ” is a word which

is of utmost importance to Buddhists.

The ‘ Saranathrayam’ of Buddhist

disciples “Budham Saranam Gachami;

Dharmam Saranam Gachami; Sangham

Saranam Gachami ” meaning “To the

Buddha I go for refuge; To the Dharma

(Teachings) I go for refuge; To the Sangha

(Monks) I go for refuge ” portrays Buddha

and Dharma as destinations for ones

refuge. Also “Sastha ” is a widely used

synonym for Buddha.

The chanting of Ayyappa devotees

wherein they repeat the word Saranam

is also interesting. There is no other

Hindu God who is associated with the

chanting of Saranam whereas it is an

integral part of the Buddhist chants.

Ayyappa devotees making a pilgrimage

are expected to lead an austere life for

41 days – follow celibacy and refrain

from tobacco and alcohol and all carnal

pleasures as well – unlikely of other

Hindu pilgrimages. This is very much

similar to the Buddhist principles which

advocate renunciation and mental

discipline.

Another interesting aspect to notice is

the egalitarian nature of the Sabarimala

temple. Devotees here are never

differentiated on the basis of religion,

caste or color. Everyone wears the same

dress and addresses each other as

“Ayyappa” or in other words each

devotee considers each other as the God

himself. This again isn’t in line with the

Hindu system of differentiating people,

but more similar towards the Buddhist

principle of equality.

Ayyappa does not show his presence in

any of the mainline Hindu scriptures,

which are of Aryan origin. This is

obvious as Ayyappa was a Dravidian

God, who was absorbed into the Hindu

mythology. Later Hindu works added

him as Hariharaputra ( Son of Vishnu and

Shiva ) who was born out of the love

between Mohini(Vishnu) and Shiva.

The folk story of Ayyappa portrays him

as the prince of Pandalam dynasty, the

Pandalam King having adopted him on

finding him as a baby in the shores of

river Pampa. It is probable that the folk

story was absorbed into the later Hindu

scriptures, adding the missing link of the

birth (story of Mohini and Shiva).

Ayyappa’s legends speaks about him

having a Muslim friend called Vavar who

has helped Ayyappa. This also underlines

the above fact, as Islam religion

originated in mid AD 600s whereas most

of the Hindu scriptures were composed

in the BC era. The legend of Ayyappa

must have originated at a time of

religious harmony between Muslims and

Hindus. The era of Pandalam Dynasty

(1200-1500AD) of which Ayyappa’s legend

is based on, also suggests the same.

It is interesting to note that Ayyappa is

just one among the several Dravidian

Gods including Tirupati Balaji, who

convincingly seem to be rechristened

forms of Buddha.

There is also convincing evidence that

Buddhism had strong following in Kerala

during early days. Lot of idols have been

discovered across Kerala; the black

granite statue of Buddha discovered in

Alapuzha(Karumadikkuttan) being the

most prominent. A 4 foot statue of

Buddha has been discovered in

Neyyattinkara as well. Karunagappally,

Idappalli, Mavelikkara etc. have been

pointed out as chief centers of Buddhism

in early days.

Whatever be the truth behind it, with

the limited knowledge that we have ( and

as history and mythology are never

written by God himself ), it is impossible to

conclude on any of the presented views.

It is actually immaterial to the millions

of devotees of Ayyappa, to whom the

egalitarian nature, the unique

experience of controlling ones senses for

an extended period, the toughness of the

journey, the ambience and the energy

felt among the devotees in the entire trip

contributes to the ultimate satisfaction of

the unique pilgrimage to Sabarimala.

Ayyappa and Sabarimala draw millions

of devotees from across South India

every year, making it the second largest

annual religious gathering in the world

after the Hajj.

References

http://www.ambedkar.org/Tirupati/

Chap5.htm

http://www.chintha.com/keralam/

sabarimala-history-myth.html

http://www.thrikodithanam.org/

tidbits.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayyappan

http://www.rediff.com/news/

dec/31rajeev.htm



A 1942 picture by Sri. Uthradom Thirunal

Marthanda Varma, seniormost member of

Travancore’s erstwhile royal family

(Trivandrum) during his brothers’(who was

then King of Travancore) visit to the Holy

shrine.

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