SABARIMALA

Sabarimala is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 40 to 50 million (4 to 5 Crores) devotees visiting every year.

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Sabarimala is a temple complex located at Sabarimala hill inside the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Perinad Village, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimage sites in the world with an estimate of over 40 to 50 million (4 to 5 Crores) devotees visiting every year. The temple is dedicated to the deity Ayyappan also known as Dharma Shasta, the son of Shiva and Mohini, the feminine form of Vishnu.

The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst 18 hills at an altitude of 1,260 M (4,134 ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as Poonkaavanam. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala.

The temple is open for worship only during specific days in a year. These are:

  • Mandalam approximately 15 November to 26 December
  • Makaravilakku or Makara Sankranti (14 or 15 January)
  • Temple Annual Festival (mid to end March)
  • Vishu or Mesha Sankramanam (usually 14 April)
  • Travancore Maharaja’s Birthday (around 11 November)
  • First five days of each Malayalam month.

See the temple opening and closing days for current year here.

What makes Sabarimala unique amongst Hindu temples in India is the 41 days vratam (penance) observed by the pilgrim before undertaking the pilgrimage. Vratam means pure thoughts, pure words and pure deeds. It is a process of self purification and includes the following key elements:

  • Abstinence from food items that induce lower desires such as alcohol, tobacco, narcotic substances, any such dependency inducing substances, meat in all forms, fish and egg, onion and garlic. Reduce intake of food to the best of one’s ability.
  • Refraining from using harsh, impolite words, untruth. Tuning oneself to use only pleasant language in all interactions.
  • Invoking bhakti in everything one does; reciting shlokas, reading and listening to holy scriptures, listening to bhajans and divine music etc. Visiting any nearby temple.
  • Keeping one’s body clean at all times, e.g., taking bath twice a day, wearing clean dress, keeping away from pollution
  • Abstinence from sexual desires, in thought and deed

At the end of 41 days’ vratam, pilgrim fills a coconut with ghee, prepares offerings to Ayyappa and assembles them in a cloth bag called ‘Irumudi’ (literally means twin bundles) and undertakes the pilgrimage to Sabarimala. When the ghee is offered to the Lord as abhishekam, a portion of it is received as prasadam and the coconut is offered to the agni, pilgrimage is complete. The process of inner purification results in the devotee being one with the Lord himself, symbolized by the Upanishad Mantra: Tat Twam Asi: the divinity you see in the Lord and the divinity within Yourself are the same. This is a feeling that cannot be described in words. It is something one must experience himself.

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