Ayyappan

Ayyappan, also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan, is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. According to Hindu theology, he is described as the son of Shiva and Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu), thus representing a bridge between Shaivism and Vaishnavism.
Ayyappan is a warrior deity and is revered for his ascetic devotion to Dharma, the ethical and right way of living. He is usually depicted as a youthful man riding or near a Bengal tiger and holding a bow and arrow. In some representations, he is seen holding a sword and riding an Indian elephant or a horse. Other iconography generally shows him in a yogic posture wearing a bell around his neck.
The legend and mythology of Ayyappan varies across regions, reflecting a tradition that evolved over time. According to Malayalam lore, Ayyappan is presented as a warrior prince of Pandala kingdom. In the later years, the stories of Ayyappan expanded with various versions describing him as a warrior who protected people from evil doers while helping restore Dharmic practices and he evolved to be a deity. In some regions, Ayyappan and Tamil folk deity Ayyanar are considered to be the same with similar characteristics.
Although Ayyappan worship has been prevalent earlier in Kerala, his popularity spread in the 20th century to most of Southern India. His abode Sabarimala is located on the banks of river Pamba in the forests of the Western Ghats, and is a major pilgrimage destination, attracting millions annually. Pilgrims often engage in weeks of preparations in advance by leading a simpler life, remaining celibate, and trekking to the hill barefoot while carrying an irumudi (a bag with offerings) on the head.
The name Ayyappan is a combination of two words ayyan and appan. Ayyan in Tamil and the similar Malayalam word acchan meaning "father". Appan also means "father"; in Tamil, both words are also used as honorific titles. He is described by Hindu texts as the son of Mohini (the female form of Vishnu) and Shiva with the name Ayyappan connoting as "lord-father". The name could have also been derived from the combination of aryan and appan with the former meaning "revered".
In Hindu scriptures such as Vishnu Purana and Srimad Bhagavatham, he is referenced as Dharmasastha and Sastha, meaning "ruler of the realm". The word Sastha could have also be derived from Buddhism as Ayyappan is seen as an incarnation of Buddha and Buddha was known by the same name, meaning teacher. He is also known as Hariharasuthan, meaning the "son of Harihara", a fusion of Hari and Hara, the names given to Vishnu and Shiva respectively. He is also called Manikanda with mani meaning bell and kanda meaning neck in Sanskrit, translating to the wearer of a bell on the neck.
Ayyappan is a warrior deity and is revered for his ascetic devotion to Dharma, the ethical and right way of living, to deploy his military genius and daring yogic war abilities to destroy those who are powerful but unethical, abusive and arbitrary. He is usually represented as a celibate young man with a bow and arrow, riding a bengal tiger. In some representations, he is seen holding an upraised bow in his left hand, while holding either an arrow or sword in his right hand placed diagonally across his left thigh. Other iconography generally shows him in a yogic posture wearing a bell around his neck. In some representations, such as in Sri Lanka, he is shown riding an Indian elephant or a horse.
The legend and mythology of Ayyappan vary across regions, reflecting a tradition that evolved over time. According to the Puranas, he is mentioned as an incarnation of Hariharaputra, the son of Shiva and Mohini. While this interaction between Shiva and Mohini is mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana, he is not mentioned by the name of Ayyappa.
According to Malayalam folklore, Ayyappan is presented as a warrior prince of Pandala kingdom. As the royal family was childless, the king of Pandalam found a baby boy on the banks of Pamba River. The king named the boy Manikantha and raised him his own son, on the advice of an ascetic. When Manikantha was 12 years old, the king wanted to formally anoint him as the heir. However, the queen objected to it, favoring her younger biological child. The queen feigned an illness, asking for the milk of a tiger to cure her illness and demanded that Manikantha be sent to obtain the same. He volunteered and went into the forest and returned riding a tigress. He confronted and defeated the demoness Mahishi. Mahishi wanted to be his wife but Ayyappa being celibate, refused the offer and killed the demoness. The king realised his special ability and recognised him to be a divine being and resolved to make a shrine for him. Manikantha transforms into Ayyappa and shoots an arrow to denote the place for the shrine.
There are minor variations in the story in certain versions with Ayyappa renouncing the kingdom and becoming an ascetic yogi in a forested mountain. In another version, he is described as the son of the king's sister, who was born in the forest and sent to his uncle later. When the shrine of Sastha at Sabarimala was destroyed by the king's enemies, he defeated them, re-installed the statue and disappeared into it. In some versions, he was raised by a childless royal couple Rajashekara Pandian and Koperundevi, and grew up as a warrior yogi.
According to Paul Younger, supplementary legends appeared in the late medieval times that linked other Hindu deities and mythologies to Ayyappan. The divine beings Datta and Leela came to earth as humans. Datta wanted to return to the divine realm, but Leela enjoyed her life on earth and wanted to stay on earth. He became angry and cursed her to become a Mahishi (water buffalo demoness). Leela in turn cursed him to become Mahisha, a water buffalo demon and they both plundered the earth with their evil acts. Mahishasura was later killed by goddess Durga, while Mahishi was killed by Ayyapan, ending the terror of evil and liberating Leela who was previously cursed. These legends syncretically linked and combined various Hindu traditions around Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism.
In the later years, the stories of Ayyappan expanded. One such version has roots between the 1st and 3rd century CE, where he evolved to be a deity who protected traders and merchants from enemies such as robbers and plundering outlaws. His temples and traditions inspired Hindu yogi mercenaries who protected the trade routes in South India from criminals and helped restore Dharmic trading practices. In another version, he is portrayed as a child of a priest whose father was murdered by a fearsome outlaw. The outlaw kidnaps a princess and he makes a daring rescue killing the outlaw in the process. In a variation of the story, Ayyappan forms an alliance with the Muslim warrior Vavar against the outlaw Udayanan, which forms the basis for worshiping both in a mosque and then in the Hindu temple before starting a pilgrimage to Ayyappa shrine.
According to Eliza Kent, the legends in the Ayyappa tradition seem to be "artificially mixed and assembled into a kind of collage". Ruth Vanita suggests that Ayyappan probably emerged from the fusion of a Dravidian god of tribal provenance and the Puranic story of Shiva and Mohini's interaction. In some regions, Ayyappan and Tamil folk deity Ayyanar are considered to be the same with similar characteristics and is cited as a reason for his large following amongst Tamils.
Although Ayyappan worship has been prevalent earlier in Kerala, his popularity spread in the 20th century to most of Southern India. While there are many temples in South India whose presiding deity is Ayyappan, the most prominent shrine is located at Sabarimala on the banks of river Pamba in the hills of Western Ghats in Kerala. It is a major pilgrimage center, attracting millions of Hindus every year. The temple is open only on select days of a year.
Pilgrims often begin preparations weeks in advance by leading a simpler life, remaining celibate, eating a vegetarian diet or partially fasting and wearing a black or blue dress. These weeks of rituals are termed as Vrutham which is signified by wearing a Tulsi or Rudraksha mala. The pilgrims do not recognize any form of social or economic discrimination and form a fraternity treating each other as equals. The pilgrims call each other by the same name Swami meaning "God". The pilgrims bath in the Pamba river and embark on a trek to the top of the hill on barefoot while carrying an irumudi (a bag with two compartments containing offerings) on the head. Then they climb the 18 steps in front of the shrine, each representing a dharmic value. The priests and devotees bring flowers and scatter them near the shrine while chanting various shlokas. As the deity is believed to be celibate, women in their fertile age are not allowed to enter the shrine. The most significant festival linked to him is the Makaravilakku, observed around the winter solstice. Harivarasanam is a Manipravalam ashtakam composed in praise of Shiva but sung as a lullaby for Ayyappan.
Other temples include Achankovil Sastha Temple, Aryankavu Sastha Temple, Erumely Sree Dharmasastha Temple, and Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple in Kerala. Temples at Tamil Nadu are located in Anna Nagar, Mahalingapuram, Perambur, and Rajah Annamalaipuram in Chennai, and Coimbatore. While Ayyappa temples typically show him as a celibate yogi, a few temples such as the one at Achankovil Sastha Temple depict him as a married man with two wives Poorna and Pushkala, as well as a son Satyaka. Some of Ayyappa temples are believed to have been established by Parashurama. In Ponnambalamedu hillock in the Western Ghats, a ritual lighting of a large flame is carried out during Makaravilakku.
Ayyappan remains one of the few deities in Hindu tradition, who is respected by other religious communities, including Muslims, and Christians. As per Government of Kerala, there is a theory that the temple of Sabarimala was of Buddhist origin. Ayyappan is also revered by Muslims in Kerala due to his association with Vavar. In this mythology, Ayyappa confronts the plunder-driven pirate robber Vavar in the jungle with Ayyappa defeating Vavar, who then becomes Ayyappa's trusted lieutenant helping fight other pirates and robbers. In another version, Vavar is stated to be a Muslim saint from Arabia, who works with him. A mosque dedicated to Vavar stands next to the Kadutha swami shrine at the foot of the pilgrimage path, both as a form of guardian deities. Pilgrims offer a prayer to both, before beginning the trek towards Sabarimala. According to Kent, the mosque does not contain mortal remains of Vavar though the mosque near Sabarimala includes a grave, and no one can date Vavar nor provide when and where he lived, so he may be a myth. The Vavar legend and palli shrines may reflect the Hindu approach to accepting and co-opting legendary figures or saints of other religions within its fold.
A number of Indian films have been made about Ayyappan. These include: Sabarimala Ayyappan (1961) by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu, Swami Ayyappan (1975) by P. Subramaniam, Saranam Ayyappa (1980) by Dasarathan, Arul Tharum Ayyappan (1987) by Dasarathan, Shiv Putra Swami Ayappa (1990) by P.S. Mani, Sabarimala Sri Ayyappan (1990) by Renuka Sharma, Engal Swamy Ayyappan (1990) by Dasarathan, Ayyappa Swamy Mahatyam (1991), Ayyappa Deeksha Mahimalu (1992) by Guda Rama Krishna, Swami Ayappa Shabarimalai (1993) by K. Shankar, Jai Hari Hara Putra Ayyappa (1995), Bhagwaan Ayyappa (2007) by Irajaral Bhakhta and V. Swaminathan, Swami Ayyappan (2012) by Chetan Sharma and Mahesh Vettiyar, Om Sharanam Ayyappa (2015) by K. Sharath, Sri Omkara Ayyappane (2016) by Sai Prakash, Ayyappa Kataksham (2019) by Rudrapatla Venugopal and Malikappuram (2023) by Vishnu Mohan.
Asianet launched a Malayalam series named Swami Ayyappan in 2006. Other series include Swami Ayyappan Saram (2010), Sabarimala Shri Dharmashasta (2012), Sabarimala Swami Ayappan (2019) and Malikappuram: Apathbandhavan Ayyappan (2023). The story of Ayyappa is dictated by Parvati to Ganesha in the Indian TV show Vighnaharta Ganesha. The story of Ayyappan was adapted as a comic in the 673rd issue of the Indian comic book series, Amar Chitra Katha.