Devalok
God · Folk · South India · Kerala; Sabarimala

Ayyappa

Also called: Ayyappan, Manikandan, Manikantha, Dharma Shasta, Hariharaputra, Hariharasuta

The god of Sabarimala, held in Kerala to be the son of Shiva and Vishnu-as-Mohini, born to kill the buffalo-demoness Mahishi whom Brahma's boon made invulnerable to anyone but such a child. Found as an infant with a bell at his neck by the king of Pandalam, he fulfils his task and chooses the Sabari hill as his seat. The Sanskrit warrant is the Brahmanda Purana's Shasta; Tamil Aiyanar is the older cognate.

boon birth devotion

Sources: Sabarimala: Mythology — Kerala Tourism (Government of Kerala); Ayyappan — Wikipedia; Shasta (deity) — Wikipedia; Aiyanar — Wikipedia · see Ayyappa's web

Relations 7

Ayyappa child of

Ayyappa dwells at

Ayyappa form of

  • Aiyanar (God) Folk · The birth of Ayyappa
    Scholars treat Aiyanar as the older Dravidian form from which Ayyappan may derive; Brahmanda Purana identifies both with Shasta.

Ayyappa slew

Ayyappa worshipped by

  • Vavar (Mortal) Folk · The birth of Ayyappa
    Companion honoured at Erumeli; robber-turned-lieutenant or Muslim saint by telling.

Stories 3

Cited