One of the most notable things is that the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple does not find much mention in historical records of ancient Kerala, as Thikkurissi Ganghadaran says in his chapter of the book Kerala Samskara Padanangal. Most of the temples were in the wetland areas. It is after eighth century AD, with the coming of Brahmin migrants, that the Hindu temples of Ithihasa-Purana tradition started to be built in Kerala. Srinivas in the book Religion and Society among the Coorgs of South India.Īlso Read: The Politics of Sabarimala in the Aftermath of the SC Verdictĭue to the significant non-presence of god Ayyappa in the conventional Ithihasa-Purana texts, it becomes difficult to categorise the cult as strictly belonging to Hindu tantric modality. “Ayyappa worship is not known further north than mid-Karnataka, where it was probably introduced from Kerala”, observes M.N. The cult is traditionally not found in the northern parts of India.

The scholar Radhika Sekar in her book The Sabarimala Pilgrimage and Ayyappan Cultus says the myth and legends of Ayyappa are not found in any of the major Puranic texts. The history of Sabarimala and the Ayyappa deity is shrouded in mystery. In this article, a historical investigation is attempted examining the evolution of Sabarimala Ayyappa cult, the custom of restricting women’s entry and the appropriation of the cult or the Hinduisation of this temple.Īyyappa cult: locating a heterogeneous history Barring the ruling left-led coalition, opposition parties like Congress and BJP are also agitating. In Kerala, right-wing Hindu groups have been orchestrating demonstrations and different campaigns of Hindu mobilisation against the Supreme Court verdict in the name of protecting a centuries old custom. Now, with the Supreme Court’s verdict lifting these restrictions, the issue has once again attained national attention. The issue of restrictions on entry of women between the ages of 10 and 50 in Sabarimala Ayyappa temple has been a topic of national debate for quite some time.

Ayyappan books tamil pdf