Ayya Vaikundar also known as Siva Narayana or Vaikunda Swami was the founder of the Ayyavazhi faith. The Ayyavazhis believe him to be the first and foremost Purna avatar of Eka-Paran and the god Vishnu (Narayana). As per Ayyavazhi mythology detailed in their scriptures, Ayya Vaikundar incarnated in 1833, when he rose from the sea of Tiruchendur in the mortal shell of Vaikundar.
Ayyavazhi is a Hindu denomination that originated in South India during the 19th century.
Swamithope is the name of a village that lies southeast of the City of Nagercoil, the capital of the District of Kanyakumari in the State of Tamil Nadu, at the extreme southern tip of India. In the past, Swamithope was known by the name Poovandanthoppe which was part of the village, Sasthankutty Vilai Swamithope lies about half-way between the cities of Nagercoil and Kanniyakumari on the Nagercoil-Kanniyakumari road. Swamithope is located at 8.12°N 77.49°E
Nizhal Thangal also called Inai Thangals) are secondary worship places of the Ayyavazhi, often smaller in size than Pathis, built per the instructions of Akilattirattu Ammanai. Cleanliness is strictly enforced.
Pathi is the name of the primary centres of congregational worship for the South Indian religious system of Ayyavazhi, having a relatively large structure like that of a temple. They are seven in number.
Ambala Pathi, also known as Pallathu pathi or Moolakunda pathi, is one of the primary pathi of the Ayyavazhi, and the second important pilgrim center of Ayyavazhi and the place where Ayya Vaikundar is said to have unified all divine power into himself by symbolic marriages.
Mutta Pathi, is one of the Pancha pathi, which are the primary centers for worship of the Ayyavazhi. This is the third important pilgrim center of Ayyavazhi. This place earn the religious importance in Akilam from the event that, Ayya Vaikundar is given two Vinchais here by Narayana under the Sea; One just before the arrest of Vaikundar by Swathi Thirunal and the second after the completion of Thuvayal Thavasu.
Thamaraikulam Pathi, is one among the Pancha pathi, the five holy places of Ayyavazhi. The Ari Gopalan Citar, who wrote the Akilam was born here.
Poo Pathi is one of the Pancha pathi, which are the primary worship centers and holy places of Ayyavazhi. As the incarnational activity of Vaikundar, the marriage with Poomadanthai, the Goddess of Earth was the event that took place here. This Poomadanthai was the final deity unified by Vaikundar into himself, symbolizing the destruction of Kali from the world (earth).
Pancha pathi are the five important pilgrim centers of Ayyavazhi. These are also considered as the primary Pathis and as worship centers of Ayyavazhi with primary status. The first pathi is Swamithope pathi itself and is the headquarters of Ayyavazhi. The other Pathis are Muttappathi, Thamaraikulam Pathi, Ambalappathi and Pooppathi.
The Arul Nool is a supplement to the Akilattirattu Ammanai, and is likewise considered a holy scripture of Ayyavazhi. This book contains the collection of messages given by Ayya Vaikundar to his Disciples, whose names are unknown. Since they are believed to be composed by Arylalarkar, it acquired the name Arulnool. There is no direct indication within the book regarding the time of its composition.
The Ayya Vaikunda Avataram or Vaikunda Jayanthi is a festival celebrated by the followers of Ayyavazhi on the 20th day of the Tamil month of Masi, the date on which the Ayyavazhi followers believe that Lord Narayana himself incarnated as Vaikundar during an encounter with a deity Goddess Lakshmi, he was beget inside the sea and arose from the sea of Thiruchendur on Kollam Year 1008 at 20th day of Tamil Month Masi. He took the human form as Narayana Pantaram at Tharuvaiyur near seashore to destroy the evil spirit of Kali and transform the Kaliyukam into Dharma Yukam.
The following outline is provided as an overview and topic guide to Ayyavazhi:
The Ayyavazhi includes a corpus of teachings of its initiator Lord Vaikundar in the form of instructions and slogans found in the religious book Akilathirattu.
The purpose of this chronology is to give a detailed account of Ayyavazhi from the beginning of the incarnational events of Vaikundar to the present time. Question marks on dates indicate approximate dates. A star (*) indicates the mentioning of that particular date in Akilam or Arul Nool. All dates but a few are found in the Tamil calendar and so doesn't coincide exactly with the months of the Gregorian calendar. The dates may span over any halves of the two consecutive months (Gregorian).
The ethics of Ayyavazhi are found scattered throughout the primary scripture, Akilathirattu Ammanai. They are also integrated with the meta-narrative mythography. However, regarding ethics, Arul Nool is considered as an accumulation and prophecy of the core concepts found in Akilathirattu. In Akilathirattu, the ethical abstracts are pointed out as "told by God" at several places at different situations to lesser god-heads, devas, saints etc. when asked by them.
Ayyavazhi phenomenology is the phenomenological variations found in Ayyavazhi society, worship centers etc. from their holy text Akilattirattu Ammanai.
The Vaikunda Malai is a hill which is part of the Mahendragiri Hills situated near Athala vilai of Kanyakumari district in the Western Ghats of India. This hill has religious importance in the Ayyavazhi religion during the festival of Ayya Vaikunda Avataram, the day of incarnation of Ayya Vaikundar.
Swamithoppu Pathi is the primary pathi of the Ayyavazhi and the sacred venue of the Tavam. Swamithope is considered primary among the Pancha pathi and the primary centre of the incarnational activities of Vaikundar.
Historical Vaikundar (1809–1851) refers to the life and teachings of Ayya Vaikundar, as known in Akilathirattu Ammanai, being reconstructed from a historical perspective in contrast to the mythological Akilamic views. Though few events referred to in the mythology have yet to be validated historically, many key events mentioned in Akilam were acknowledged by other contemporary sources.
