The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple is a Hindu temple that is devoted to the worship of a deity named Ayyappan, also known as Dharma Shasta. Ayyappan is believed to be the son of Shiva and Mohini. The temple is situated atop a hill in the village of Ranni-Perunad, within the Ranni Taluk of the Pathanamthitta district in the state of Kerala, India. The temple is surrounded by 18 hills in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world, with an estimate of over 10 to 15 million devotees visiting every year.
Makaravilakku is an annual festival held on Makara Sankranti in Kerala, India at the shrine of Sabarimala. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam procession and a congregation at the hill shrine of Sabarimala. An estimated half a million devotees flow to Sabarimala every year to have a darshan (vision) of this ritual this day.
The Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple is a Hindu temple located near Aranmula, a village in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, South India. It is dedicated to the Lord Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, who is worshipped as Parthasarathy. Constructed in the Kerala style of architecture, it is one of the "Divya Desams", the 108 temples of Vishnu revered by the Alvar saints.
Oachira or Ochira is an ancient temple town located 32 km away from Kollam city in Karunagappally taluk, Kollam district in Kerala, India.
Harivarasanam (ഹരിവരാസനം) is a Malayalam ashtakam in praise of lord Shiva sung as a lullaby to Lord Ayyappan at the Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, situated in Kerala, India. The song became popular through the first stanza in the Keerthanam known as Hariharatmajashtakam (ഹരിഹരാത്മജാഷ്ട്ടകം).
Devaswom are socio-religious trusts in India, whose members are nominated by the government and community. They oversee Hindu temples and their assets to ensure their smooth operation in accordance with traditional rituals and customs. The devaswom system notably exists in the state of Kerala, where most temples are either managed by Government of Kerala-controlled devaswoms or private bodies or families. The properties of each temple are deemed to be the personal property of the presiding deity of the temple, and are managed through a body of trustees who bear allegiance to that deity.
Travancore Devaswom Board is statutory and autonomous body managing around 1252 temples in southern part of India. The regular operations of one of the major temples of India, Sabarimala temple, works under its guidance.
Sabarimala stampede is a human crowd crush that occurred at Sabarimala temple in the Indian state of Kerala in 1999. On 14 January 1999,, 53 people, the majority of them from outside Kerala, died in the crowd crush at the Pamba base camp caused by, among other things, the collapse of the sides of a hillock.
The 2011 Sabarimala stampede was a crowd crush on 14 January 2011, Makara Jyothi Day at Pullumedu near Sabarimala in Kerala, India. It broke out during an annual pilgrimage, killing 106 pilgrims and injuring about 100 more declared later as "National disaster". The pilgrims were returning from a Hindu shrine on the last day of a yearly festival which attracts millions of devotees. It began after a Jeep toppled over.
Ponnambalamedu is a summit in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District, Perunad grama panchayat, Kerala, India. It is located near the Sabarimala Ayyappan temple, where the annual Makaravilakku event is conducted in the presence of nearly half a million pilgrims annually.
Anna Nagar Ayyappan Koil is a Hindu Ayyappan Temple dedicated to the deity Ayyappan in Chennai, India. It is located at the junction of 6th Main Road and 2nd Avenue in Anna Nagar.
The Sasthamangalam Mahadevar Temple is a Hindu temple in the Sasthamangalam ward of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation, Kerala State, India. It is located on top of a hill away from the city centre to promote the spiritual tranquility of the shrine. The temple is more than 700 years old according to the available records, and was regularly visited by the Kings of Travancore. It is administered by the Travancore Devaswom Board.
Rahul Easwar is an Indian public policy commentator and activist from Kerala.
The Ready To Wait campaign is a social movement initiated in September 2016 by a group of female devotees of Hindu deity Ayyappan, as a response to a petition filed in the Supreme Court by women's groups to demand the right to enter the Sabarimala temple, located in the southern Indian state of Kerala, which traditionally restricts entry of women of reproductive age. The campaigners of "Ready To Wait" asserted their willingness to respect the traditions regarding entry to the Sabarimala temple. It started as a social media campaign with the hashtag #ReadyToWait and soon gained momentum as Hindu women from all over the country took to social media to show their support.
Pandalam dynasty a royal dynasty emerged from a branch of Pandya kingdom. which existed in Kerala during the Kollam era. They came to Kerala fearing the assault of the Nayaks of Madurai. In Kerala they were given land and status by Kaipuzha Thampan of Nilambur Kovilakam a landlord who lived in Amanthur Palace at Kaipuzha from Kottayam Kerala. Today Pandalam is part of Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India.
Pettathulal, also known as Petta Kettu, is a historic ritualistic dance held annually on the 27th of Dhanu at Erumely, in the district of Kottayam, in the Indian state of Kerala. It is performed during the Mandalam - Makaravilakku period among thousands of devotees. It depicts the joyfulness of people over the slaying of Mahishi by Lord Ayyappa. Two groups actively participate in the thullal, one from Ambalappuzha and other from Aalangadu. The Ambalappuzha group starts their journey to Erumely on the 22nd of Dhanu and a couple of days before the thullal. They visit the Manimala Bhagavathy temple on 25th Dhanu and perform an Aazhi pooja. Before the Ambalappuzha thullal, a Krishna parunth flies around in the sky. It is believed that lord Vishnu himself arrives from Ambalappuzha Sree Krishna temple on his mount Garuda to witness the thullal.
Pathinettampadi are the 18 divine steps to the 'Thirumuttam' of famed Sabarimala temple in Kerala state of India. These steps have a length of 5 feet, width of 9 inches and height of 9 inches. Earlier, these steps were made out of granite and later in 1985, it was covered by 'Panchaloha', a composition of five metals such as gold, silver, copper, iron and tin. One who undertakes Sabarimala pilgrimage must mark his foots over these steps by carrying an 'irumudikettu' and undergoing a vratam (penance) of 41 days. The pilgrims who climbed the Pathinettampadi for 18 times needs to plant a young coconut tree at Sannidhanam and thereby becomes a 'Guruswami'. In the past, devotees used to break coconuts on these steps which was later restricted and replaced.
Panchalimedu is a hill station and view point near Kuttikkanam in Peerumedu tehsil of Idukki district in the Indian state of Kerala. On the Makar Sankranti day, many Ayyappa devotees camps there to witness the sacred Makaravilakku that appears in the Ponnambalamedu near Sabarimala temple. On Good Fridays, Christians come here to follow the way of the cross here.
Sabarimala is a temple dedicated to Shasta, in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. Women and girls of reproductive age have traditionally not been permitted to worship there, as Shasta is a celibate deity. The Kerala high court provided a legal justification for this tradition, and since 1991 onwards, women and girls were legally forbidden to enter the temple.
Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam (SASS) is an organization of Ayyappan devotees and an affiliate of the Sangh Parivar. It is a registered public charitable trust started on 13 November 2008 with headquarters at Pathanamthitta in Kerala. SASS aims to serve Ayyappa devotees in their pilgrimage to Sabarimala and inculcate dharmic values in them and their families and bring them together to further the larger aim of Hindu unity. SASS activities can be listed in 5S: Satsang, Swaadhyay, Seva, Samarasta and Sangharsh.
