SABARIMALAI

ANTIQUITY

Here is another novelty! The history of origin of the Ayyappa cult reveals a strange blend of antiquity with historicity. There arc two versions about the origin; one begins in the dim past, precisely at the time of churning of the Ksheerasagara - ocean of milk for obtaining Amrit to conferring immortality. The Devas, when totally debilitated by the atrocious acts of danavas, were shown the way by Sri Maha Vishnu - that the only sure way was to drinking of nectar which confers amarathva, though not invulnerability.

When they started the Ksheerangara madana, making Manthara Parvatha as the churning stick, placing on the back of the tortoise form of Sri Maha Vishnu, and the snake Vsuki as the rope, first came Kalakootha poison, threatening to convert the worlds into heaps of ashes. The All-compassionate Lord Maheswar at once swallowed it to save the universe from annihilation. Parvathi his loving spouse throttled it before passing down the gullet. 

It made him Neelakantha reminding the beholders the infinite concern the Lord has for, the cosmos and humanity. Sooner many covetable objects, like the Kamadhenu, Kalpavrisha, Iravatha, Vuchchaisrava along with Sri Mahalakshmi turned up. There was much hullabaloo for them. Some how the crafty devas out-wining the headless danavas owned them.

[ Back ] [ Up ] [ Next ]