A place that must be visited once in a lifetime is the shrine of Sabarimalai which is located amidst the lush greenery of Kerala. This magnificent temple of Swamy Ayyappa attracts thousands of devotees every year especially during the month of January when people gather here to get a glimpse of the divine form and the Makarajyoti.

Lord Ayyappa is known by other names like Manikanta, Shabarigiri vasa and so on. It is mentioned in the holy scriptures that Lord Ayyappa was born to Shiva and Mohini who was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu hence the deity is called Harihara Putra wherein Hari is Vishnu and Hara is Mahadev.

The mythological story behind Ayyappa’s birth

According to the legends, Mahishi who was the sister of Mahishasura created chaos in the entire universe after her brother was assassinated by Maa Durga. Mahishi performed fierce penance and appeased Lord Brahma. She asked Brahma Dev to grant her a boon that she would only be killed by a child born to Lord Vishnu and Shiva.

Mahishi was very much confident that she would remain immortal and conquer the entire universe. However, to put an end to the evil thoughts of Mahishi Lord Vishnu incarnated as Mohini and unified with Lord Shiva to give birth to a child. This child who was Harihara Putra is none other than Ayyappa. On the whole, Ayyappa was born to kill the demoness Mahishi and grant her salvation.

Who took care of Ayyappa as a child?

It was pre-decided that the child born by the union of Gods Shiva and Vishnu will be looked after by Lord Shiva’s true devotees King Rajashekara and his wife who were childless. The King found this child alone on the banks of the river Pampa and he took to a sage. When the sage saw the child he advised the king to adopt it and also said that the child would be very lucky for him in all ways. Sage also saw that the child was wearing a gold chain around the neck hence it was named Manikanta.

How did Ayyappa kill Mahishi?

Mythological stories explain that after Ayyappa was adopted King’s dynasty grew prosperous and the king and queen were blessed with a son as well. But, after having her own child the queen started neglecting Ayyappa. She could not digest the fact that Ayyappa would be made the next king so she pretended to be suffering from a rare disease and sent Ayyappa to the forest to get the milk of a tigress stating that it was the only medicine.

Obedient child Ayyappa left for the forest and on his way, he witnessed the cruelty of demoness Mahishi and to end her demoness acts Ayyappa killed her and thus his purpose of taking birth was fulfilled.