While religion is the opiate of the masses, old gods seem to be fading away in favour of the new ones, just as in case of fashion. One such new god is Ayyappan, also referred to as Dharma Sasta, whose shrine is located in a place called Sabarimala in Kerala. The devotee turnout of Sabarimala can easily out-number that of many ancient temples of India. Interestingly, among this huge crowd, Keralites are few, and most come from the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
As to who is Ayyappan, there are different theories. Some anthropologists say Ayyappan was a tribal god of Kerala. Likelihood of this seems less, as there has been little or no change in the tribal religions over centuries, and the present day Kerala tribes do not worship Ayyappan as god. Others say he is a corrupted Buddha form because of the frequent use of the word, 'Saranam,' in his prayers and the Buddhist title 'Dharma Sasta' given to him.
In any case, Ayyappan is a post 9th Century phenomenon. None of the ancient Hindu scriptures mention Ayyappan's name. On careful comparision of the history of Kerala with the events mentioned in mythology, it turns out that Ayyappan is a glorified form of Ayyan Adigal, a 9th century king of Chera dynasty who ruled the Wynad area of Kerala. He seems to have fought and won many battles with other south Indian kings as well as invaders from the north.
While deifying a powerful king is not a novelty, the mythology circulated amongst the believers of Ayyappan says that he was born out of a romantic encounter between Lord Shiva, and Lord Vishnu in Mohini form (?). Considering the prevalence of Buddhist and Jain shrines in Kerala which were subsequently converted to Hindu temples by Brahminical kings, in all probability, the Sabarimala shrine was an older Buddhist Dharma Sasta shrine around which the myth of Ayyappan was spun subsequently.
On the Makara-Sankranthi day every year, a flickering light appears on the top of a hill ten kilometers crow-fly distance away from the temple (Kanthamalai / Devamalai / Ponnambalamedu). This light, visible from the temple premises as well as the surrounding hills, called Makara-Jyothi, is seen as a sign from divinity by the devotees. In the early 1990s, after investigations by few N.C.C. cadets who climbed the Kanthamalai on a particular Makara-Sankranthi day, the temple priests had to announce that the Makara-Jyothi was nothing but camphor fires lit by the temple staff. But few care for the truth!
There is also the spotting of a star, ''Utthra,'' in the sky at this time which the devotees hail as 'not seen in any other part of the world'. On the other hand, there are no stars of the magnitude of brightness as this one, unknown to the astronomers and not spottable in the rest of the world.
This temple follows a unique procedure for appointing its chief priest or Melsanthi. After receiving applications from the aspiring Namboodri Brahmins of Kerala, the Travancore Dewaswom Board short-lists six of them for the post. The short-listed candidates then deposit a large sum of money with the T.D.B. Thereafter, lots are drawn for the appointment of Melsanthi for a period of one year. The Melsanthi, thus appointed, will then try to recover the deposit (plus profit) from the pilgrims in two pilgrimage seasons, one in January (Makaram), and the other in March- April (Vishu).
The temple itself is situated atop a hill which is fairly difficult to climb. During the pilgrimage seasons, about 500,000 humans gather at a site which can hardly accommodate about 15,000 people. Water is so scarce in Sabarimala, that the public-latrines are not washed for days. The surroundings of the temple emit a weird odour, due to intermingling of the smells of human excreta, decomposing food and scent of flowers.
Then there is this high decibel, hysterical screaming of 'Swamiyeeeeee Saranam Ayyappaaaa...,' by devotees, who incidentally, can be a menace to others during the 40 day count-down to Makara-Sankranthi. They scream through the nights using loud-speakers, and wake up neighbours who are sometimes students studying for their exams.
During their travel to the shrine by the devotees, ticket-less travelling is often the norm, which extends to the compartments reserved for others. Many a road accident are caused by the zealous devotees overdriving their jam-packed TATA-Sumos. Sometimes, stampedes occur within the temple. In the last stampede, over 50 devotees had died. The blessing seekers also become the victims of land-slides, heart-attacks, drowning in the Pampa river, and gastro-enteritis.
The Travencore Dewaswom Board ostensibly creates facilities for the pilgrims every year utilizing forest land in the Periyar Tiger Reserve and Ranni Forest Division. The facilities in reality are make-shift structures all along the pilgrimage path, which sell eatables and small articles of religious importance to the pilgrims. The T.D.B. auctions the rights to establish these structures every year, and gets income from the same. Since the pilgrimage takes place twice an year, the structures are more or less 'permanently temporary.' The vendors are hardly mindful of the importance of the Tiger Reserve, or the bio-diversity of western-ghats where Sabarimala is situated. The forest area is freely littered with polythene, rubber, left out food, human excreta, broken glass, and burnt logs which are actually chopped off from the surrounding vegetation of the tiger habitat. The Pampa river where the devotees take bath, is reduced to a sewer. But trees and tigers do not cast votes in General Elections, and therefore do not have a voice!
The Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS) & the Centre for Environment Development (CED),Thiruvananthapuram, after a study, have warned that Sabarimala is highly vulnerable to landslips and tremors, and further draining of water into weak zones shall lead to sub-surface rock slips and tremors. But this is precisely what is happening due to high devotee influx.
Periyar Tiger Reserve today reels under the burden of the marauding devotees, as well as fund crunch. Therefore, a sensible arrangement could be to allow Project Tiger authorities to conduct the auctions in a regulated way, and use the income generated for the conservation of Periyar Tiger Reserve. A limited number of devotees could be selected on lottery basis to visit Sabarimala shrine every year, as is done in case of some other pilgrimages in India (Manas Sarovar Yatra).
It needs to be mentioned herein that Periyar Tiger Reserve perhaps is the only wildlife reserve in the country, where poachers were turned into protectors, by reforming, re- training, and re-employing them. Further, the area is a biodiversity hotspot. A study conducted by the Tropical Botanical Garden Research Institute identified several rare plant species in the forests of Sabarimala. Damage done to this fragile ecosystem shall be irreversible and may lead to catastrophic ends.
Therefore, perhaps God and the beasts want the devotees to leave them alone. Spiritualism is not the same as religious dogma. Miracles do happen in mental realm, and do bring fantastic transformation in individuals. They do not occur as flickering lights on hill-tops!
