page_title: Sabarimala
section_title: Origins
hierarchical_section_title: Sabarimala / Origins
caption_attribution_description: English: Ayyanar seated with Poorna Pushkala, 7th c. CE. From Historical Museum of Rajendra Chola, Gangaikondacholapuram, Peramablloor District, Tamilnadu, India.
context_page_description: The Śabarimala Temple is a temple complex located at Sabarimala inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 40 to 50 million devotees visiting every year. The temple is dedicated to a Hindu celibate deity Ayyappan also known as Dharma Shasta, who according to belief is the son of Shiva and Mohini, the feminine incarnation of Vishnu. The traditions of Sabarimala are a confluence of Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism, and other Śramaṇa traditions.
  The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 1260 m 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.
context_section_description: The worship of Shasta 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 Shasta temples in South India and across the globe. As per the temple history, the Shasta temple at Sabarimala is one of the five Shasta temples founded by Lord Parasurama, an avatar of Lord Vishnu. The other Shasta temples in this group of five includes the Ayyappan Temples: at Kulathupuzha, where the Shasta 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 "makaravilaku".
  
  In 1821, the kingdom of Pandalam was added to Travancore. 48 major temples including the Sabarimala temple were also added to Travancore.
caption: Aiyyanar with Poorna and Pushkala. From Historical Museum of Rajendra Chola, Gangaikondacholapuram, Perambalur District, Tamil Nadu, India.
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