Ayyappan

Ayyappan, also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan, is the Hindu deity of truth and righteousness. His worship is more prevalant in South India. Although devotion to Ayyappan has been prevalent earlier, his popularity rose in the late 20th century. According to Hindu theology, he is the son of Vishnu in the form of Mohini and Shiva thus representing a bridge between Shaivism and Vaishnavism. Ayyappan is depicted as a youthful man, riding or near a Bengal tiger, carrying a bow and arrow. Most iconography of Ayyappan depict him in a yogapattasana, a seated position. His abode is in Sabarimala which is located in the forests of the Western Ghats on the banks of river Pamba, and is a major pilgrimage destination, attracting millions annually.

Names and etymology
Ayyappan is literally derived from "Ayyan" and "Appan" both meaning "father" and the root names might denote Mohini (the female form of Vishnu) and Shiva, respectively. An alternate theory links it to the Malayalam word acchan and Tamil word appa both meaning "father", with Ayyappan connoting as "Lord-father". The proposal is supported by the alternate name for Ayyappan being Sasta, a Vedic term that also means teacher or guide. However, the word Ayyappan is not found in the medieval era Puranas, while the words Sastha and Dharmasastha in the sense of a Hindu god are mentioned in the Puranas. Ayyappan is also known as Hariharasudhan, meaning the "son of Harihara" or a fusion deity 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.

Iconography and depictions
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 of Ayyappan, 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.

Theology and historical development
The legend and mythology of Ayyappa varies across regions, reflecting a tradition that evolved over time. According to Sribhutanatha Purana, Ayyappan 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, Ayyappan is not mentioned by name.

According to Malayalam folk songs, Ayyappan is presented as a warrior prince of Pandala kingdom. As the royal family was childless, the king of Pandalam found a baby boy in a forest. 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 anoit 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. Manikantha volunteers and goes into the forest, where he confronts the demoness Mahishi, whom he kills and returns back riding a tigress. The king realizing Manikantha's special ability recognizes him to be a divine being and resolves to make a shrine for him. Manikantha transforms into Ayyappan and shoots an arrow to denote the place for the shrine. There are minor variations in the story in certain versions with Ayyappan renouncing the kingdom and becoming an ascetic yogi in a forested mountain. In some versions, he was raised by a childless royal couple Rajashekara Pandian and Koperundevi, and grew up as a warrior yogi.

In the later years, the stories of Ayyappan expanded. One such version has roots between the 1st and 3rd century CE, where Ayyappan evolves to be a deity who also protects traders and merchants from enemies such as robbers and plundering outlaws. His temple and tradition inspired Hindu yogi mercenaries who protected the trade routes in South India from criminals and looters, restoring Dharmic trading practices. In another version, Ayyappan is portrayed as a child of a priest whose father was murdered by a fearsome outlaw. The outlaw kidnaps a princess and Ayyappan makes a daring rescue, while 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 Ayyappan shrine.

According to Paul Younger, supplementary legends appeared in the late medieval times that linked other Hindu deities and mythologies to Ayyappan heritage. 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. Datta became angry and cursed her to become a Mahishi, or water buffalo demoness. Leela in turn cursed him to become a Mahishi, or water buffalo demon. 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, states Younger, syncretically link and combine various Hindu traditions around Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism. 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, Ayyappa and Tamil folk deity Ayyanar are considered to be the same with similar characteristics, a reason for his large following amongst Tamils.

Worship
Although devotion to Ayyappan has been prevalent earlier, his popularity rose in the late 20th century. While there are many temples in South India whose presiding deity is Ayyappan, the most prominent Ayyappan shrine is at Sabarimala, nestled in the hills of Western Ghats on the banks of river Pamba 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 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. 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 shrine priests and devotees bring flowers and scatter them near the shrine, all the while chanting shlokas. As Ayyappan is believed to be a celibate deity, 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 Kulathupuzha Sastha Temple, Aryankavu Sastha Temple, Achankovil Sastha Temple, Erumely Sree Dharmasastha Temple and Ponnambalamedu temple. While Ayyappan 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 Ayyappan temples are believed to have been established by Parashurama.



Ayyappan remains one of the few deities in Hindu tradition, who is respected by other religious communities, including Muslims and Christians. He is also revered by Muslims in Kerala due to his friendship with Vavar. In this mythology, Ayyappan confronts the plunder-driven pirate robber Vavar in the jungle with Ayyappan defeating Vavar, who then becomes Ayyappan'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 Ayyappan. 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.

Popular culture
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 Ganesh. The story of Ayyappan was adapted as a comic in the 673rd issue of the Indian comic book series, Amar Chitra Katha.