Ayyappan: Difference between revisions

| image = Ayyappa Swamy bazaar art, c.1950's.jpg

| alt = A painting of Ayyapppan seated on a tiger with a herd of tigers behind him.

| script_name =  

| script =  

| symbols = [[Bell]], [[bow and arrow]]

| father = [[Shiva]]

| texts = ''[[Brahmanda Purana]]''

}}

Ayyappan's popularity has grown in many parts of India, and the most prominent Ayyappan shrine is at [[Sabarimala]], nestled in the hills of [[Pathanamthitta]] of [[Kerala]]. The shrine receives millions of pilgrims every year in late December and early January, many of whom prepare for weeks before and then climb the hill barefoot,<ref name=Quinn/> making it one of the largest active pilgrimage sites in the world.{{sfn|Younger|2002|pp=22–24}}<ref>{{cite news|author=Press Trust of India|title=Safety Manual for Sabarimala prepared|url=http://expressbuzz.com/topic/safety-manual-for-sabarimala-to-be-prepared/287323.html|access-date=13 July 2011|newspaper=The New Indian Express|date=June 23, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083502/http://expressbuzz.com/topic/safety-manual-for-sabarimala-to-be-prepared/287323.html|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The pilgrimage attracts a wide range of devotees, from diverse social or economic backgrounds, except women in their fertile age because Ayyappan is believed to be the celibate deity. He remains one of the few deities in Hindu tradition, who is respected by other religious communities, including Muslims and Christians in Kerala.<ref name=bri>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ayyappan| title=Ayyappan – Hindu deity|encyclopedia = Encyclopaedia Britannica|year= 2014}}</ref> The most significant festival linked to him is the Makaravilakku ([[Makara Sankranti]]), observed around the winter solstice.<ref name="CushRobinson2008p78"/><ref>{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DH0vmD8ghdMC&pg=PA350 |year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-341421-6|pages=238, 350}}</ref>

==Names and iconography==

[[File:Ayyapan(1).jpg|thumb|Ayyappan icon similar to the Sabarimala icon in a yogic position.]]

The name Ayyappan (sometimes spelled as Ayyappa or Aiyappan) may be related to as "Lord Father". The name may literally come from "Ayyan" and "Appan" both meaning "Father". The root names "Ayyan" and "Appan" denotes [[Mohini]] (Mohini here called father, she is a female form of the god [[Vishnu]]) and [[Shiva]] respectively.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Paul Williams|author2=Anthony Tribe|author3=Alexander Wynne|title=Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NOLfCgAAQBAJ |year=2012| publisher= Routledge|isbn= 978-1-136-52088-4|page=62}}; Contemporary scholar Peter Harvey translates the term "arya satya" (see [[Four Noble Truths]]) as "True Realities for the Spiritually Ennobled" (Peter Harvey (2013), An Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, page 52)</ref> However, the word Ayyappan is not found in South Indian versions of the medieval era [[Puranas]], leading scholars to the hypothesis that Ayyappan may have roots elsewhere. The alternate theory links it to the Malayali word ''acchan'' and Tamil word ''appa'' which means "father", with Ayyappan connoting "Lord-father".<ref>{{cite book|author=Mikhail Sergeevich Andronov|title=A Grammar of the Malayalam Language in Historical Treatment|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H422cDV5qX4C&pg=PA49|year=1996|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03811-9|page=49}}</ref><ref name=bronkhorst>{{cite book|author1=Johannes Bronkhorst|author2=Madhav Deshpande|title=Aryan and non-Aryan in South Asia: evidence, interpretation, and ideology; proceedings of the International Seminar on Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EOdtAAAAMAAJ|year=1999|publisher=Harvard University, Dept. of Sanskrit and Indian Studies|isbn=978-1-888789-04-1|pages=177–178}}</ref> The alternate proposal is supported by the alternate name for Ayyappan being ''Sastava'' (''Sasta'', ''Sashta'', ''Sastra''), a Vedic term that also means "Teacher, Guide, Lord, Ruler".<ref name=bronkhorst/> The words ''Sastha'' and ''Dharmasastha'' in the sense of a Hindu god are found in the Puranas.<ref name="Dalal2010p43">{{cite book|author=Roshen Dalal|title=The Religions of India: A Concise Guide to Nine Major Faiths |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pNmfdAKFpkQC |year=2010|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-14-341517-6|page=43}}</ref>

Ayyappan is also known as ''Hariharasudhan''<ref>Kumar, cited ref by author is (Sekar 2009, 479-84)</ref> – meaning the "son of [[Harihara]]" or a fusion deity of ''Hari'' and ''Hara'', the names given to Vishnu and Shiva respectively.<ref>Younger, p.22</ref> He is also called ''Manikanta'' from Mani, Sanskrit for precious stone,<ref>{{cite web|title=maNi|url=http://spokensanskrit.org/index.php?mode=3&script=hk&tran_input=Mani&direct=se|website=Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit|publisher=spokensanskrit.org|access-date=27 August 2017}}</ref> and ''kanta'', Sanskrit for neck. In some regions, Ayyappa and Ayyanar are considered to be the same deity given their similar origin. Others consider him as different because their worship methods are not the same.<ref name="Dalal2010p43"/>

==Life and legends==

== Temples ==

[[File:Sri Ayyappa Swamy Temple at Koduru, Krishna District.jpg|thumb|Sri Ayyappa Swamy Temple at Koduru, Krishna District, [[Andhra Pradesh]]. The entrance shows Ayyappan riding a tiger.]]

Ayyappan temples typically show him as a celibate yogi. A few important temples such as the one at [[Achankovil Sree Dharmasastha Temple]] near Travancore, however, depict him as a married man with two wives Poorna and Pushkala, as well as a son ''Satyaka''.<ref>{{cite book|author=K. Srikumaran|title=Theerthayathra: A Pilgrimage Through Various Temples|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FGvXAAAAMAAJ |year=2005|publisher=Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan|isbn=978-81-7276-363-3|pages=103, 120}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ky3GBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT127|title=The Man Who Was a Woman and Other Queer Tales from Hindu Lore|page=127 |first=Devdutt|last=Pattanaik |date=9 January 2014|publisher= Routledge|isbn=9781317766308}}</ref> Some of Ayyappan temples are believed to have been established by the Vishnu avatar [[Parashurama]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Maria A. David|title=Beyond Boundaries: Hindu-Christian Relationship and Basic Christian Communities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YYlC_qF_eB0C&pg=PA9 |year=2009| publisher=ISPCK| isbn=978-81-8465-001-3|page=9}}</ref>

Many begin preparations months in advance by leading a simple life, doing yoga, abstaining from sex, eating a vegetarian diet or partially fasting, wearing black or blue or ''[[sadhu]]''-style dress for forty one days, then trekking as a group to the shrine. The group does not recognize any form of social or economic discrimination such as caste, and all devotees form a fraternity welcoming each other as equals.<ref name="Smith1978p3"/><ref name="Kent2013p14">{{cite book|author=Eliza Kent|title=Lines in Water: Religious Boundaries in South Asia|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=iYOiAgAAQBAJ |year=2013| publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn= 978-0-8156-5225-0|pages=14–15}}</ref><ref name="Eck2012p13"/> The pilgrims call each other by the same name during the trek: ''swami''.<ref name="Eck2012p13">{{cite book|author=Diana L Eck|author-link=Diana L. Eck|title=India: A Sacred Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rNlJOSf__xYC&pg=PA13|year=2012|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0-385-53191-7|pages=13–14}}</ref><ref name="Daniel1987p244">{{cite book|author=E. Valentine Daniel|title=Fluid Signs: Being a Person the Tamil Way|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KwZatzse3CsC|year=1987|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-06167-5|pages=244–262}}</ref> After their long walk covering about 18 miles, they bathe in the Pamba river, then they climb 18 steps at the Sabarimala shrine, each representing a dharmic value (ethics, or interiorized gods). The shrine priests and devotees bring flowers from all over the Western Ghats and scatter them near the shrine, all the while chanting ''[[shlokas]]''.<ref name="Smith1978p3"/>{{sfn|Younger|2002|pp=18–23}}<ref>{{cite book|author=Stephen Knapp|title=Spiritual India Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=djI5mL2qeocC&pg=PT416 |year=2009| publisher=Jaico|isbn=978-81-8495-024-3|pages=416–419}}</ref>

The devotees wear simple dress on the day of the pilgrimage up the hills and through the forest, many go barefoot, carry ''irumudi'' (a walking stick for regional Hindu yogis with two compartment little bag sometimes carried on head), wear Tulasi leaves and Rudraksha beads around their neck (symbolism for Vishnu and Shiva) while fellow Hindus gather along the trek path, cheering and helping them complete their journey.<ref name="Smith1978p3" />{{sfn|Younger|2002|pp=18–23}} For the Ayyappan pilgrims, states E. Valentine Daniel, the pilgrimage is a part of their spiritual journey.<ref name="Daniel1987p244" />

* [[Aranmula kottaram]] (Aranmula palace)

* [[Gurunathanmukadi]]

* [[Harivarasanam]]

* [[Maalikapurathamma]]

== References ==

{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===

* {{citation|last=Younger|first=Paul|title=Playing Host to Deity: Festival Religion in the South Indian Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VqPmCwAAQBAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2002|isbn=0195140443}}

*{{cite book|first=P. Pratap|last=Kumar|title=Contemporary Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o2d_BAAAQBAJ|publisher=Routledge|date=2014|isbn=978-1317546351}}

==External links==

{{Hindu deities and texts}}