Civilizations and
cultures all over the world, including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Mayans,
Chinese and Indians, have celebrated the winter solstice from time immemorial.
In India, the starting of Sun's 'journey from the south to the north' has also
been used as a symbol of ascension for the soul in a spiritual journey. One of
the Hindu Gods celebrated during this time of the year is Sri Dharma Sāstha,
more popularly known as Lord Ayyappa of Kerala. Millions of devotees observe
ascetic living during the weeks leading up to the winter solstice and then make
an arduous journey to the temple of Lord Ayyappa which is located deep inside a
thick forest. The last leg of this journey requiring a barefooted climb of the mountain on a gravel road is a
great test of faith as well as endurance for the devotee. What makes a devotee
to take on such personal sacrifices in order to get a mere glimpse of an idol?
The obvious answer is faith. However, this fete is also an enactment of the
core Hindu philosophy of living, of being and becoming. 
The Hindu God
trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Siva represent creation, sustenance and
dissolution of everything in the universe as well as that of the universe
itself. Brahma causes existence - time, space, matter, energy - to be. Vishnu
oversees the 'being' of existence, its sustenance. Siva causes the dissolution
or the process of 'becoming' by which things transform from one form to
another. Hence, life or human existence, which is a continuous interplay of
'being' and 'becoming' can be metaphorically said to be a dance of Siva and
Vishnu. The purāna story behind the origins of Sri Dharma Sāstha appears to have been developed with this philosophical insight.
The purāna story
talks about a female demon Mahishi, with a buffalo head and human body, who
terrorized the world having obtained a boon from Brahma that no one,
self-evolved or born to a male and female couple, be able to kill her. The
Devas had no answer to her prowess and had to surrender their rule. Their only
hope to overcome Mahishi was in a divine offspring who would emanate from Siva
and Vishnu. And, an opportunity for this presented itself when Lord Siva one
time wished to see the Mohini (enchantress) form of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu had earlier adopted this female form to trick the
Asurās and recover the pot of nectar they had secured from the churning of the
ocean of milk. When Vishnu consented and once again appeared as Mohini, Lord
Siva was overcome by the Māya of Vishnu and became enchanted in Mohini. And,
from that union was born Lord Sāstha. Since Sāstha was born to a couple who
were actually both male, Mahishi's boon didn't constrain him in taking on her
and ending the tyranny.
To understand the metaphorical meaning of Sāstha better, we
have to look at the etymology of the name in Sānskrit as well as examine
details of the image of the idol. As an offspring of the Gods of 'being' and 'becoming', Sāstha
is a metaphorical representation of life itself as well as how one should be in
life. The etymological meaning of the Sānskrit word Sāstha is 'one who is
established in the injunctions (of Veda)'. In broader terms, this means a
person who lives a life that is founded on the spiritual guidance offered by
the Vedas. The idol image of Sāstha is that of a person in a squatting
position, with a band running across the legs and the back, preventing the
person from getting up or moving. What this indicates is a self-restrained
soul, who is totally at rest within oneself and not having the need to hanker
after anything. To augment this image, Sāstha is said to have two consorts,
Purna (Contentment) and Pushkala (Happiness). Combining these together, we are
given the picture of how one should be in life: self-restrained, contented and
happy!
Now, let's look at what Sāstha accomplishes. The word Mahishi has two
parts to it, Mahi meaning the earth and isha meaning compulsive attraction. Therefore,
Mahishi is the compulsive attraction of
earthly pleasures and Sāstha, the epitome of self-restraint, is her
annihilator. Again, through the story and image of
Sāstha, we are metaphorically given the guidance on how to overcome the
irresistible desires that are the root cause of suffering.
To understand how
one should deal with 'becoming', let us turn to the story of Lord Ayyappa.
This story is not from the purāna but
based off a folklore from Kerala. A
Pandya king who was displaced by the invading army of Malik Kaffer in the 11th
century AD found refuge in a small town in Kerala. His tiny kingdom got the
name Panthalam, meaning Pandya's grove (Pandya - Alam). This king who was childless, happened to find
an abandoned child in the forest who he adopted. The child was named
Manikantan, one with a bell on his neck, since the baby was found with a tiny
bell tied to a string on his neck.
Manikantan grew up to be a great warrior and became the chief of the
King's army. More popularly, Manikantan was also known as Ayyappan or Ayyappa.
The name was coined from the Tamil word 'Ayya' which is a respectful address to
a master and another Tamil word 'appan' which, in this context, is a loving
address to a very dear person, usually a boy or youth.
The story tells of
an incident of envy and court politics which resulted in Ayyappa being
dispatched to the forest to fetch the milk of a tigress with new born cubs.
Essentially, Ayyappa was thrown the challenge of accomplishing a deed that
appeared to be nothing but certain death for a meaningless cause. Some
alternate stories talk about Ayyappa being dispatched to face the forces of a
marauding chieftain, Udayanan, who repeatedly attacked Panthalam from the
forests. Long story short, Ayyappa
vanquishes his enemy and rides back into the town on a tigress. We can take
this to mean that Ayyappa proved that he had overcome all fear of death and was
successful in the impossible effort given to him. However, having realized the petty politics and power
struggle going on in the court, Ayyappa departs permanently to the forest and
instructs the King to come and find him later. No one saw Ayyappa after that
and the King who went in search of him in repentance found only the idol of
Sāstha in Sabari Mala. The King realizes Ayyappa to have been Sāstha himself
in human form. A temple is constructed for Lord Ayyappa at this location along
with places for paying respects to Ayyappa's trusted associates that included a
pair of tribal warriors and a Muslim warrior named Vāvar. Later on the local folklore and the
purāna story have been intermixed to
form the legend of Lord Ayyappa of Sabari Mala who is also worshipped as Sri
Dharma Sāstha.
Ayyappa's story fits the pattern of the 'hero' legend that we will
find in many cultures across the world. But from a Hindu religion point of
view, Ayyappa offers the image of how
one should face the 'becoming' aspect of life. Face it courageously like a
hero, overcome all fear of death and do what is right, selflessly and for the
sake of society. By combining Sāstha and
Ayyappa into one image, we are given the comprehensive Hindu philosophy of being and
becoming in life.
To reach the abode
of Lord Ayyappa in the Sabari Mala temple, one has to climb a stair of 18 steps
that stand for the five organs of action, five sense organs, five prāna
(energy systems in body) , mind, intellect and Ahamkāra
(I-sense). Climbing these eighteen steps, keeping Lord Ayyappa and Lord Sāstha
in mind, and watching the Jyothi (flame) that rises up in the sky on Makara
Sankrāti evening could very well be the turning point and the only guidance we will need on how to live life!
