Sabarimala

Sabaripeedam Understand [ ] The temple is dedicated Lord Dharmashastha or popularly known as Ayyappan. Sabarimala allows pilgrims of all religions but women between 10 and 50 were not allowed (this was struck by India's Supreme Court), and it is still considered very taboo today. This is because Ayyappa prohibits the entry of the women in the menstrual age group as Ayyappan is a naishtika Bramhachari (celibate). Conditions for pilgrimage [ ] Pilgrims are required to adopt an ascetic lifestyle before climbing the hill, including abstention from drinking, smoking, and tobacco for a period of 41 days before climbing the hill rock; abstention from consuming any non-vegetarian food or any kind of food that contains roots of plants. Food must be consumed only after bathing and praying, and in limited quantities. Pilgrims are also to refrain from sex, shaving, having a haircut and using luxuries such as perfumes, scents, silk clothes and shoes. Dress code [ ] Devotees wear blue, black or saffron-coloured costumes. All pilgrims carry an Irrumudi-Kettu, which is a bag containing a coconut filled with ghee, puja materials, rice and banana which will be folded into two halves and carried on one's head. All devotees must chant "Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa" (which means Ayyappa is my saviour) as a token of devotion. Every other person when met at Sabarimala is referred to as Ayyappa and must not be called by his or her name. Get in [ ] Thiruvananthapuram, 170 km and Nedumbassery, 160 km ar...

Dharmasastha Sabarimala Temple located at Sabarimala in the Pattanamthittu district of Kerala. It is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in the world. The temple is dedicated to Lord Sastha, popularly known as Lord Ayyapan. The Sabarimala Temple is located at the peak of a hilltop named Sabarimala at an altitude of 1535 feet. The temple complex is surrounded by dense forests which have been converted into the Periyar Tiger Reserve. The forest is locally known as Poomkavanam. Sabarimala Temple Video In Hinduism, Lord Dharmasastha is also popularly known as Manikandan and Ayyapan. He is the son of Harihara, often called as Hariharaputra. Hari refers to Lord Vishnu and Hara refers to Lord Shiva. It is believed that Dharmasastha was born out of the union of Mohini (an avatar of Vishnu) and Lord Shiva. He holds the combined powers of Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva. Lord Ayyapan is believed to be an incarnation of Lord Dharmasastha and a visual representation of the unity of Shiva and Vishnu. The 41 days. They wear a black or blue dress, do not shave and smear Vibhuti or Chandan on their forehead. They wear a Rudraksha or Tulasi mala as a sign of fasting. The devotees are required to abstain from non-vegetarian food, alcohol, tobacco, sexual intercourse, foul language, shaving, haircut, and nail trimming. The Sabarimala Temple is also a fine example of the integration of the Buddhist religious beliefs with the Hindu system of worship. Historically, it is believed that a Buddhis...

Water has been found seeping through the outer wall of the sanctum sanctorum on the left side of the entrance. Water was seen dripping on the idol of Dwarapalaka when the temple opened for monthly poojas on July 16. The Devaswom Board authorities met Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru who has granted permission to conduct the repair works. A team of experts in temple architecture will inspect the roofing on August 3 and repair works will be conducted following their advise. “The leak has been detected on the front left corner of the sanctum sanctorum. The leak is not a major one and we suspect the water is leaking through the gap of a screw used to fix the gold plate. I have given instruction to conduct the repair works immediately. The expense of the repair works will be borne by the TDB and we will accept if some devotees come forward to donate the gold for the repair works,” said TDB president K Ananthagopan. ALSO READ | Revised feasibility report on Sabarimala airport submitted to Union ministry He said a portion of the gold-plated roof will be opened on August 3 to inspect the leakage and prepare an estimate for the repair works. “The roof will be opened on the presence of Tantri and senior officials from the TDB and vigilance wing. We can conduct the repair works only when the temple is closed. However, we have decided to complete the works within 45 days. We have obtained permission from the Tantri to conduct the works,” said Ananthagopan. Liquor baron Vijay Mallya had spon...

Express News Service SABARIMALA: Devotees will have to wait in the queue for at least eight hours to offer darshan at Sabarimala in the coming days of the Makaravilakku season as the virtual queue booking till January 12 is almost full to the capacity. The online booking facility is for 90,000 devotees per day. The long-winding queue for darshan being witnessed since the beginning of the Makaravilakku season on Friday continued on Sunday, with the queue path extending up to Marakkoottam. With the rush continuing, the special queue for children, elderly and women too extended up to Saramkuthi, forcing them to wait for at least five to six hours. “My six-year-old daughter and I had to wait for about 10 hours for darshan,” said Ajithkumar of Pandalam. “The police at Pampa did not allow us to take the Swami Ayyappan Road. Instead, were forced to climb the traditional Neelimala-Appachimedu path,” he said. Devotees are facing hardships at queue complexes due to the lack of facilities for providing snacks or even biscuits. Currently, the flow of pilgrims at the Holy Steps is not at the desired level of 75 to 80 devotees per minute, but around 50 to 60, increasing the waiting time of devotees in the queue. Meanwhile, in view of the increased flow of devotees, there has been a demand to extend the time of neyyabhishekam offering by an hour to 11.30 am. It will be a big relief for hundreds of devotees who otherwise will have to wait till 3.30 am the next day for the offering. Also, ...

• • • Sabarimala: Everything you need to know about the unique temple, its myth and pilgrimage Sabarimala: Everything you need to know about the unique temple, its myth and pilgrimage Sabarimala temple: The last couple of weeks have seen a strong surge in street-protests and prayer meetings by devotees of Lord Ayyappa since the Supreme Court lifted age restrictions on the entry of women into the temple. Sabarimala temple: The shrine opens for the first day of the Malayalam month of Thulam on Thursday. (File) Ever since the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark ruling last month lifting age restrictions for the entry of women at the popular Sabarimala temple in central Kerala, the raging issue has divided the state with supporters on either side. The last couple of weeks have seen a strong surge in street-protests and prayer meetings by devotees of Lord Ayyappa, the presiding deity at Sabarimala, with women participating in large numbers. This week, the subject is likely to reach a flashpoint when the temple opens for the first day of the Malayalam month of Thulam. Here’s a primer on the temple, its significance in south India and how it makes powerful reverberations among the Hindus in Kerala. The lore of Ayyappa When Manikandan was 12, the queen of Pandalam developed a sudden illness and the physician treating the Queen recommended tigress’s milk to treat the same. While everyone shied away from the responsibility of bringing tigress’s milk from the forest, Manikand...

• HOME • ABOUT SASS • About SASS • SASS Foot Print • Board of Trustees • National Executive Committee • State Executive Committee • SABARIMALA • About Sabarimala • How to Reach • Calendar • Pooja Timing • RESOURCES • SASS Prayer • Harivarasanam • Ayyappa Vani • Articles • Downloads • Utram Puja • Find the Nearest Ayyappa Seva Kendra • NEWS • Upcoming Events • MORE • Join SASS • Appeal • Make a Donation • Contact us • GALLERY • Photo & Video Gallery • Webinars & Podcasts • • SASS mission is captured in 5S: • Satsang, Swadhyay, Seva, Samarasta and Sangharsh • Satsang means assembly of devotees with good thoughts to do good deeds • Swadhyay means studying by oneself and combined study with other like minded people • Seva means offering one’s body, mind and resources to the society to the less privileged members • Samarasta means seeing the whole society as one with empathy and sense of belonging and oneness • Sangharsh means using peaceful, democratic means of agitation to bring about social change SASS mission is to be an agent of social change using the above 5 means. SABARIMALA AYYAPPA SEVA SAMAJAM (SASS) is an Organization of devotees of Lord Ayyappa worldwide. It was established as a Public Charitable Trust on 13th November, 2008, at Pathanamthitta in Kerala State, India. Holy Sabarimala Temple is located in this district. Within a short span of time SASS established itself in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Pondichery, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Over the decade, S...

By P. Shanmuganandan, National Administration Secretary, SASS Every year millions of Indians, irrespective of caste, creed or religion throng the tiny complex to have darshan of Lord Ayyappa. True to the Hindu philosophy of ‘Tatwamasi’ (that thou art), at Sabarimala, Lord and his devotee commune directly, sans intermediaries. Then why only young women are denied entry at the temple? Is it patriarchal? Is it misogyny? Is it gender discrimination? Is it an anachronism in this modern age when men and women are constitutionally equal? This article examines the biological, scientific and tantrik reasons behind this restriction. Legend has it that the temple at Sabarimala was built by Sage Parasurama, the warrior-sage who reclaimed the Land of Kerala from the sea. Sabarimala is one of the five Ayyappa –‘panchashastha’ temples erected by the powerful yogi to protect Kerala from destructive elements, the others being Kulathuppuzha, Aryankavu, Achankovil and Erumeli. At Kulathuppuzha, the Lord is worshipped as an infant boy, at Aryankavu as an adolescent on the verge of matrimony and at Achankovil, he is depicted as a family man -‘grihasthashrami’ with his wives – Poorna and Pushkala and at Sabarimala as a Brahmachary in Yogic posture. These temples resemble natural stages of human life namely balya (childhood) student (adolescent) Gruhasta & vanaprasta. However, at Sabarimala Lord Ayyappan/Dharmashastha is a brahmachari in a state of eternal bliss or Samadhi, holding ‘chinmudra’. ...

Sabarimala Sri Ayyappa Temple, dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, is the most famous and prominent among all the Sastha temples in Kerala. The temple is situated on a hilltop about 4000 feet above sea level named Sabarimala, which is unique in many respects. The uniqueness gathers its voice, as the temple is open to all, irrespective of caste, creed or religion. There is a place near the temple; east to Sannidhanam, dedicated to the Vavar (a sufi and friend of Lord Ayyappa) which is called 'Vavarunada', an epitome of religious harmony. The temple remains open only for 127 days a year. The journey to the temple is to be taken through difficult paths in the forest as the vehicles can go only up to Pampa. The dawn of the Vrichikam month occupies a special place in the spiritual pilgrimage calendar. For it is on this day that millions start their trek to reach the shrine of Lord Ayyappa reverberating chants ‘Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa’, meaning ‘Lord Ayyappa – the only refuge’. Located in the deep, dense forest on the virgin hill of Sabari, in the Ranni-Perunad village of Pathanamthitta district of Kerala, in South India, Sabarimala epitomises the supreme virtue of unity sans religion, caste, or creed. The Malayalam month of Vrichikam – mid November – ushers the longest open period to visit the hill shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappan or Dharma Sastha. As devotees would aver, a pilgrimage to Sabarimala is a symbiotic combination of mind power, determination, physical stamina, and faith to ...