Legend of Erumeli Ayyappa Temple and Petta thullal

Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple is standing alone among the Hindu Temples in Kerala with its unique rituals and procedures. The devotees have to undertake continence for 41 days before visiting the temple. Devotees should avoid alcohol consumption and non-vegetarian food for all these forty-one days and they are prevented from sexual relations also.
There are many other conditions such as wear only a black dress, should not wear footwear, etc are also included in the continence. Erumeli Sri Dharma Sastha Temple is an important temple on the way to Sabarimala and it has an important place in the rituals related to Sabarimala. The most important one among those is “Erumeli Petta thullal”.
Before going into the details of “Petta thullal, the legend of Erumeli Sri Dharma Sastha Temple will be told. There are two temples in Erumeli, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa or Sri Dharma Sastha. They can locally be called Valiya Ambalam (Big Temple) and Cheriya Ambalam (Small Temple) The Valiya Ambalam is believed to have constructed by Alambillil Millakkaran, an official working under the local feudal lord Ranni Katha.
Alambillil Millakkaran went to participate in the temple festival of Thiruvambadi Temple and got humiliated by the temple authorities. He decided to construct a temple of his own as an act of revenge. As he was planning to construct a temple, he had a dream in one night in which a saint came and asked him to go to the holy River Pamba the very next day early morning and to take a bath dipping in it. The saint further told him that he will see an idol of Lord Ayyappa there.
The very next day, Alambillil Millakkaran left to have a bath in River Pamba and he got a divine idol of Lord Ayyappa. He brought it to his house. On that night the saint once again came in his dream and asked him to cultivate brown peas in his courtyard and when they ripe send a cow to eat the entire peas. The saint told him that he should let the cow go anywhere after eating the pea and he is instructed to follow the cow. Saint instructed to construct a temple at the place where the cow takes rest.
Being a staunch devotee, Alambillil Millakkaran obeyed the words of the saint, and the temple has been constructed at the place where the cow took rest. He consecrated the idol that he got from River Pamba inside the temple.

Cheriya Ambalam or Kochambalam is located about half a kilometer from the valiya ambalam and that is also dedicated to Lord Ayyappa or Sri Dharma Sastha. The legend is that there was an old lady called Puthen veettil Ammoomma who was highly religious. She belongs to the Vellala community. Hearing the stories of Ayyappa killing Demon Mahishi, she realized that Ayyappa is an incarnation of divine power and he asked his son Perusseri Pillai to construct a temple and to consecrate the idol of Lord Ayyappa.
Erumeli Petta Thullal starts from Kochambalam or the small temple and ends at Valiyambalam or the big temple. There are two legends behind the Petta Thullal. One is that Lord Ayyappa with the support of the Ambalapuzha Army, Alangattu Army, and his compatriot and warrior Vavar conquered Sabarimala which was the hideout of Udayanan, a cruel robber. Petta Thullal is considered as the celebration of victory by Ayyappa and his soldiers. The second legend says that it is to commemorate the victory of Lord Ayyappa over the demon Mahishi.

In old days all the Kanni Swamis (the devotees visiting Sabarimala for the first time) used to participate in Petta thullal and it begins on 1st of Malayalam month Dhanu and ends on 30th of Dhanu. Pettathullal by the devotees will continue day and night all these days. However, the petta thullal of the Alangattu group and the Ambalapuzha group is more popular.
Pettathullal is a ritual and it starts from the Kochambalam. The devotees start the ritual with prayer and then pay respect to Guru Swamy, the leader of the group. Then they will apply sandal paste, ash, etc on the body. This costume is to get a look that resembles tribal warriors. They will wear crowns made with leaves and creepers too. Once the rituals at the temple are over they all march to Kottapadi to the tune of drum beats. From there they will come back to Kochambalam and then visit the Vavar Mosque. Finally, the procession will end at the Valiya ambalam. There they will take round around the temple and through the leaves and sticks over the roof of the temple and will take a bath in the nearby rivulet.

As mentioned earlier the pettathullal of the Alangadu group and the Ambalapuzha group are more popular. Ambalapuzha group will begin their Pettathullal on the morning of the 27th of Dhanu month. Alangattu group will start their thullal afternoon. It is believed that Vavar will go to Sabarimala along with the Ambalapuzha Group. Hence the Alangattu Group will not visit the Vavar mosque, on their way to valiya ambalam.

Legend of Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple

Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple is located in the Pathanamthitta District of Kerala. It is a temple that stands quite apart from the other Hindu Temples as far as the customs and rituals are concerned. In the old days, the temple used to be open for the devotees only during the Mandalam Season (41 days from the 1^st of Malayalam Month Vrischikam which usually starts on 15^th or 16^th of November every year and a few days before the 1^st of Malayalam Month Makaram which falls on 14^th or 15^th of January). However, the temple is being opened in the first five days of every Malayalam month nowadays. Still, more number of Ayyappa Devotees prefer the Mandalam Season to visit this shrine.

Probably because of the large number of devotees being attracted to this temple, it always finds a place in controversies, especially during the season. Even there are many contradicting myths and legends about this temple. Although the deity of the temple, Lord Ayyappa is regarded as Hari Hara Putrha (son of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu in Mohini Avatara) some historians are claiming it to be a Budha temple once and the deity here is Lord Budha. The most popular legend about this temple goes as follows.

As per the Hindu beliefs, the gods became older due to the curse of Saint Durvasav, and to regain their strength and youth, they had to drink Amruth. This Amruth is being kept under the milky sea (Palazhi) and had to take out by churning the sea. Being old and weaker due to the curse, gods alone could not do this, hence they took the help of demons.

When the Amruth came out finally, the stronger demons took it away. Lord Vishnu incarnated in the form of a beautiful lady named Mohini and approached demons. The stunning beauty of Mohini attracted demons and all of them wanted to marry her. She put a condition to marry her. She told all of them to sit in line with their eyes closed and then she will serve the Amruth. Everybody can open their eyes after consuming Amruth, but she will marry the person who opens the eyes last.

Nobody wanted to lose a chance to marry this charming beauty and hence they all agreed with her condition. When the demons closed their eyes, she took the Amruth and went back to the gods and handed it over to them. When Lord Shiva came to know about this incident, he urged Lord Vishnu to show her the Mohini Incarnation. Although reluctant at first, Lord Vishnu had to take the incarnation once again due to the compulsion of Lord Shiva. When Lord Shiva saw the Mohini, he too fell for her beauty. Finally, Mohini gave birth to a boy child from Shiva. This child is known as Dharma Sastha.

As in the other parts of India, Kerala too was being ruled by different feudal lords before independence, and Pandalam was one such princely kingdom. Rajasekharan was a king in this dynasty. Although he could rule the country to the satisfaction of his subjects, he could not live happily as he does not have children. He was worried more about the fact that the dynasty will come to an end after his death. He used to pray to Lord Shiva every day for a child.

Once, when the king was out for hunting in a thick forest, he heard the crying of a small kid and when traced it to a huge banyan tree he saw a newborn baby boy lying just beneath the tree wrapped in a piece of silk cloth. There was a small golden chair around his neck with a bell tied to it. When the King wondered about how the baby came there, a sage appeared in front of him and asked him to take the baby to his palace as it has been awarded as an answer to his prayers to Lord Shiva. The sage also revealed that the baby has a divine lineage and the truth will be revealed when the boy becomes twelve years old. He obeyed the words of the sage and took the boy to the palace. Even the queen was happy as she got a cute child. They named him Manikantan as there was a bell tied around his neck.

Days have passed and Manikanta started pursuing education. The queen gave birth to a boy child in between and he has been named as Raja Rajan. Although the King and the queen still loved and regarded Manikantan as their eldest son, the minister who was taking care of the administration developed a dislike towards Manikantan. The young Manikanta, who came back from the gurukul after finishing education, became more popular among the subjects. He was smart too. Minister, who used to misuse the power for his own benefits, became unable to continue with his activities. This again worried him. He hatched a plot to finish Manikanta when he understood the plan of the King to handover the thorn to Manikanta.

He lured the queen by creating confusion in her mind. He warned her that once Manikanta, who is not her real son becomes King, he will certainly kick out both her and her own son from the palace and they will have to lead a life that is similar to those of slaves. After the continuous effort, the minister succeeded in creating a dislike about Manikantan in Queen’s mind. Still, she was afraid of requesting the king to avoid making Manikanta the king as she knew that he has a lot of love towards Manikanta. Hence, both queen and the Minister hatched a plan. As per his direction, the queen fell on the bed pretending that she is suffering from heavy stomach pain. Then the palace doctor, who was an aide of the minister, came to examine her and prescribed some medicines. He insisted that those medicines should be taken after dissolving them in the milk of leopard. This suggestion stunned the king. One has to bring leopard alive to take out milk and it was quite impossible too. At that time minister came there and suggested Manikanta’s name for this task.

Although the king was reluctant to send Manikanta for his risky job, Manikanta himself came forward and offered his readiness. He went into the dense forest. There Lord Indra along with other gods appeared in front of them with bowed hands and expressed their consent to incarnate in the form of a female leopard and its kids. Manikanta placed himself on the mother leopard and started his journey towards the palace. All the people got stunned seeing this and they got scared too. They all went inside their houses and remained inside with closed doors. The message even reached the palace even before the arrival of Manikanta.

The same sage who appeared in front of the king years before and asked him to took the baby Manikanta to the palace appeared once again there and revealed the right identity of Manikanta. He revealed that Manikanta went inside the forest to kill the demoness Mahishi the sister of Mahishasura. She derived a boon from Lord Brahma that only the son of Lord Shiva and Vishnu can kill her. That happened inside the forest and now Manikanta is returning.

As soon as he reached in the courtyard of the Palace, the queen jumped out of the bed and confessed everything to the king.  When Manikantan came inside the palace, the King told him that everything happened due to the evil planning of the minister and he should punish the minister. But Manikantan did not agree with that. He told the king that it was the wish of the heavens due to which everything happened. Then he asked the king to crown Rajarajan as his heir and allow him to leave back to the world of gods as he has completed his duty. Then both the king and queen fell on his feet and requested him to live in their country to bless the subjects. They asked him to suggest a place for constructing a temple for him. Then Manikantan shot his arrow and asked the king to construct a temple where it fell. That was the place where the great sage Sabari used to live during the period of Lord Sri Rama. Manikantan also told the king that he will only bless those devotees who are coming to visit the temple after taking strict vrutha for forty-one days.

It is believed that Agasthya Maharshi led the foundation of the stone ceremony of the temple.

Legend of Malikapurathamma

There is another temple beside the Ayyappa Temple which belongs to the deity Malikapurathamma. She is none other than the Mahishi who got killed by Ayyappa. Mahishi was the daughter of a saint and had to become a demon with the face of a buffalo due to the curse of her father.  When she has been removed from the curse by the son of Shiva and Vishnu, she regained her old figure. She had fallen for the charm of Ayyappa or Manikanta and requested him to marry her. Manikanta, who is known as Ayyappa rejected her pleas as he was still in Brahmacharya. However, he agreed to marry her with a condition. She will be given a place just beside him in Sabarimala and when the Kanni Swamis (The devotees who are visiting Sabarimala for the first time are known as Kanni Swamies) stopped visiting the temple he will marry her.

There is a ritual for Kanni Swamies (First-time visitors) to throw arrows at a place called Saram Kuthi Alu (A huge banyan tree where the arrow of Manikanta fell during his fight with Mahishi). At the end of the Mandala season every year, the idol of Malikapurathamma will be taken out on an elephant to this place. After seeing the place covered with a large number of arrows, she will recognize that kanniswamies have visited that year too. She will then return to her temple with a broken heart. This divine lady love is still waiting patiently for realizing her dreams. 

Sasthamkotta Ayyappa Temple

Kerala has been divided into several smaller states on those days and each has been under a king. There were many tiny states and Pandalam was one among them. The world-famous Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple was under the control of the Pandalam royal family and the Lord Ayyappa has been considered their family deity.

Once, a young prince from this family got married to a beautiful princess of Kayamkulam. He stayed back at her palace and did not return to his own country. There was a custom for the family members of Pandalam Royal family to visit Sabarimala Temple once in a month and to perform several rituals there. This prince fell for the beauty and the romantic approach of his wife and forgot everything. When he got immersed in the materialistic life forgetting his family god, one day he had a nightmare where he saw many wild animals including tigers attacking him. He was so scared that he cried loudly in sleep. This has repeated for many days and the relatives of his wife have considered that he became mad. They scolded him and insulted him rudely.

Although his wife has supported him fully, he got hurt with the insults of other family members. One day he was sitting alone in the courtyard of the palace. Then a Brahmin came there and told him to visit Sabarimala Temple once as it was long since he went there last time. He asked the prince to be there for twelve days continuously. He took those words as of Sabarimala Ayyappa and went to Sabarimala.

Meanwhile, the king who has insulted the prince became mad. He could not recognize anybody and could not talk anything other than two words, “Kaduvayum Puliyum Pettu” (Tiger delivered a baby tiger). Quite depressed with these developments, other members consulted an astrologer. He told them that it is the punishment for insulting a devotee of Lord Ayyappa and the only solution is to offer one hundred and one gold coins to Sabarimala. He also instructed that he should make arrangements for Brahmins to use the words “Kaduvayum Puliyum Pettu” frequently in front of him. King submitted the gold coins as instructed by the astrologer and he asked the poets of his court to pen down new songs where the words, “Kaduvayum puliyum pettu” is coming frequently. Brahmins used to sing that song even now.

Meanwhile, the prince of Pandalam completed his 12 days rituals. Although he promised his wife that he will return on the thirteenth day, he decided to be at Sabarimala as it was too late. In the sleep, he saw a Brahmin coming near him and reminding him about the promise he made to his wife. The Brahmin told him that there is a white horse outside his room and he can take it to reach at Kayamkulam palace early morning. Quite surprised by this, the prince came out and saw a white horse. He took the horse and reached Kayamkulam. As soon as he alighted from the horse it disappeared.

Everything went smoothly for quite some days and the day has reached when the prince was supposed to visit Sabarimala once again. He was quite sad with the feeling that he will have to part from his wife for over a week. On that night, the Brahmin again appeared in his dreams and consoled him saying that he did not have to come to Sabarimala. He also promised the prince that he will come at a place nearer to him. Believing that it was Lord Ayyappa who came in his dreams in the disguise of Brahmin, the prince dropped his plans to visit Sabarimala.

Kayamkulam King was a warrior and he used to conduct many competitions for warriors regularly. As usual, one such competition was organized on the next day. On that night, the Brahmin again came in the dreams of the prince and told him that he will also participate in the competition. The next day, the competition began and a tribal youth attracted everybody’s attention with his expertise in all types of weapons. Pleased with his expertise, the King asked him what he should present him to mark his respect. The youth replied that he will shoot an arrow and the king should provide him land around that for him. King agreed and the youth shootout an arrow. It went far. King sent his soldiers to find out the place where it has fallen down. The tribal youth and the prince also followed them.

By the sunset, they reached near the banks of a lake and found that the arrow has felled down on the island in the middle of the lake. As it was getting dark they decided to go there the next day morning. The next day morning, the tribal youth and the prince went there in a boat. As soon as they reached there the youth disappeared and to the astonishment of the prince he has found out that the boat they were traveling was a crocodile. When he was wandering on the island, a soldier of Kayamkulam came there and informed the prince that he has seen an idol of Lord Ayyappa there. When the prince accompanied the soldier, he saw the idol with the golden crown and necklaces which he has offered at Sabarimala.

At that time a Brahmin came there and asked him whether he is happy. He told the prince that he can visit here frequently instead of going to Sabarimala. The Brahmin also instructed that the wild animals living there are his subjects and nobody should disturb them, Instead he asked the prince to feed them properly. Kayakulam King, who reached there by this time has quite surprised by these happenings and he instructed to construct a bridge across the lake to reach this island. He also constructed forts around the island and a big temple in the center. Thus this place has come to be known as Sastham kotta or the fort of Lord Sastha or Lord Ayyappa.

Now there are no wild animals, but a lot of monkeys. Even now the devotees offer food to the monkeys to please the god. Vanarasadya or the feast to monkeys in Sasthamkotta is very famous.