Come December, the hilltop shrine of Sabarimala in Kerala receives legions of Ayyappa devotees who undergo a rigorous fast for 41 days to prepare themselves for the bachelor god’s darshan. Lakhs of people, young and old, visit the shrine to have a glimpse of Makara Jyothi, the light which they believe is Ayyappa himself, during the Makaravilakku festival.
The festival takes place in the latter half of Makaram, a month in the Malayalam calendar. It starts with the deity being adorned with the sacred ornaments or Thiruvabharanam, which are taken in procession by the Pandalam royals to the temple.
Origin Story of Sabarimala
Ayyappa, according to legends, was the foster son of the Pandalam king who was childless. He found the infant in the forest and raised him as his own son, and named him Manikandan. The child was supposedly born of the union between Shiva and Vishnu (in his Mohini form). The story goes that after a son was born to the queen, she conspired with the Dewan to ensure that her real son would be the king’s heir apparent and not Manikandan. She feigned illness for which the only remedy was the milk of a tigress.
Manikandan went to the forest to get the tigress’ milk for the queen. There, he encountered Mahishi, the sister of the buffalo demon, Mahishasura, who was killed by Goddess Durga. Mahishi wanted to avenge her brother’s death. She had obtained a boon whereby only a child born of Shiva and Vishnu could kill her. This was Ayyappa’s divine mission on earth.
Ayyappa slew Mahishi in battle and returned to the palace riding a tigress. Meanwhile, the king discovered the conspiracy hatched by his Dewan and the queen. He also realized that Manikandan was no ordinary child. Manikandan, having achieved his divine purpose (killing Mahishi), returned to heaven, and the king built a temple to honor him in Sabarimala.
Ayyappa chose to remain a bachelor, and females of child-bearing age are not allowed in the shrine.
Sabarimala Makara Jyothi
Makara Jyothi is the star that devotees worship at Sabarimala Temple on the day of Makara Sankranti, which falls on 14 or 15 January every year. It is believed that the star is Ayyappan himself, who appears to bless his devotees. The Makara Jyothi will be visible in Ponnambalemedu, around 4 km from Sabarimala, between 06:00 pm to 08:00 pm. The light appears thrice on the Ponnambalamedu hill.
During the Makaravilakku festival, a sacred lamp (Makara Vilakku) is lit in Ponnambalamedu. Devotees view it from the sannidhanam of the temple and worship it. Long ago, it was the tribal community of Mala Arayans, who have been living on these hills for many generations, who lit the lamp. Some 6 decades ago, the Kerala government took over this tradition. Today, it is the Kerala State Electricity Board that has the task of lighting the lamp during the festival with the Travancore Devaswom Board’s support.
The Mala Araya community is believed to be Ayyappa’s helpers. They were one of the 35 tribes who were notified by the Kerala government. After an unsuccessful agitation for decades, the community asserted their rights in 2016 to light the Makara Vilakku by approaching the Kerala State Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
.png "The festival takes place in the latter half of Makaram, a month in the Malayalam calendar. It starts with the deity being adorned with the sacred ornaments or Thiruvabharanam,")
Makara Jyothi Rituals
Before priests open the doors of the shrine, they adorn the idol of Ayyappa with the Thiruvabharanam and bring it to the pathinettam padi, or 18 steps of the sanctum. This occurs after 6 pm. Devotees from Kerala, as well as its neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra, Telengana, and Karnataka, who are assembled there, chant Ayyappa's name with great fervor and sing devotional songs. Then the doors of the sannidhanam are thrown open for the darshan, and Deeparadhana takes place at 6:30 pm.
After the Deeparadhana, prayers are offered. Once the festival comes to an end, the temple closes on January 19. After this day, devotees are not allowed to visit the shrine. On January 20, the temple doors close after the royal family of Pandalam has worshipped at the shrine.
Makara Jyothi 2023 is on January 14. Sabarimala temple’s Makara Jyothi is a much-awaited event in the whole of south India, and the presiding deity, Sabarimala Sastha or Ayyappa, has millions of devotees in the southern states who visit the shrine after undertaking the strict vrat for more than a month, year after year after year until old age or illness prevents them from making the pilgrimage.
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