HISTORY OF SABARIMALA & AYYAPPA - A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY

Brief & Comprehensive history of Ayyappa & Sabarimala , besides the Socio-Economic-Political History of Kerala are given, including Nairs, Ezhavas, Muslims, Christians, Pulayas, Malayarays in Kerala.

1. HISTORY OF AYYAPPA AND SABARIMALA- a comprehensive study DR. RAJU MUNJANAD MATHEW*

2. SABARI, Ayyappa, malikapuram & Vaverswamy as historical PERSONALITIES Though there are several Myths and Folklores of Sabari, Ayyappa and Malikapuram of Sabarimala, they were real life characters lived and died or murdered in the present Sabarimala and the surrounding areas, including Nilakkal, near River Pampa in Kerala, India, during thirteenth century AD. It also tells the complete cleansing of Buddhism and the spread of Islam & Christianity and emergence of Nairs, Ezhavas, Pulayas & Tribal People, besides Brahamanical Hinduism. The present work is an attempt to explore the history of Sabarimala and Ayyappa based on the available knowledge. A more scientific historical work , giving citations and references, can be brought out. This work may inspire historians, sociologists, and artists to bring out several works, including cinema, drama, fiction, poems and etc.

3. The background In the light of the Verdict of the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India, allowing women having child-bearing potentialities and the subsequent agitations of the Conservative Hindu Fundamentalists against the Supreme Court Verdict, even mobilizing their women, it is pertinent to go through the earlier and modern history of Sabarimala and Ayyappa over above the existing myths, folklores, and traditional beliefs or practices.

4. Early history The history of Sabarimala, originally known as Karimala, as a Buddhist Center of Learning, Meditation and Pilgrimage, was started with the rise of Munjanad Kingdom by the middle of the thirteenth century AD, with its capital at Nilakkal in the valley of Sabarimala near the River Pampa, earlier known as River Karimala, in Kerala, India. Munjanad Kingdom was extended over the borders of Tamilakam and Kodungallor and had marriage relationships with Pandalam Kingdom and Zamurians of Calicut.

5. Rise of nilakkal Under the patronage of Munjanad Kings, Nilakkal had emerged as a major center of trade and culture, even attracting traders of spices, herbs and forest products from China, Ceylon, Egypt, Syria, Babylon and Arabia who travelled through Cranganure or Musuries Port, using the ever flowing Pampa River. Munjanad Kingdom became very much prosperous and well known far ahead off Pandalam, Tamilakam and Andhranad that made them jealousy of it.

6. Buddhist, Christian and Muslim Connections Even though Munjanad Kings were Hindus following Sanathana Dharma, they gave patronage to the Jains from Tamilakam , the Buddhists from Ceylon and also the Arab Muslims and Christians and allowed them to make small settlements, including their temples or places of worship.

7. PETTA & PALLY By the end of the thirteenth century AD, the Munjanad Kingdom welcomed a large number of Tamil Muslims consequent on religious prosecution, and allowed them to set up their colony called ‘ Petta ” near River Manimala in the bank of a stream ‘ Peruthode ’, known as ‘ Erumely Petta ’ and another one in the bank of Meenachil River near Arivthara where two rivers join together, known as ‘ Erattu Petta ’. The Buddhists were permitted to build up their colonies besides temples, known as ‘Pally” at Kanjirappally , Monippally , Vazappally ,, Thathampply and etc

8. Sabari and Karimala For the whole hearted support of the Munjanad Kingdom, the Buddhists had established their Temple, Monastery and School at the top of Karimala Hill, under Sabari, a Buddhist lady monk and scholar well versed in Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda and Martial art . All other Buddhist centers in Kerala, suffixed with ‘Pally’ or ‘ Oor ’, including Gurvayoor, came under it. Buddhist monks and Chinese and Arab Travellers, had visited and stayed at Karimala. Hindus, Muslims, Jewish, Buddhist and Christians boys and girls were admitted as students and some of them had later served the Munjanad Kingdom.

9. KALARI & SARPAKAVE Every house hold in the Kingdom, including that of Hindus, Muslims and Christians, had set up its own pond, well, farm and herbal garden later known as ‘ sarpakave ’ and even a kalari . For the missionary zeal of the Buddhist monks Ayurveda , Kalari and rearing of cows, goats, hens and cokes had become very popular, that spread to other kingdoms also.

10. Birth and Exile of Ayyappa from Pandalam Kingdom Ayyappa was born as the son of a Prince of Pandlam Kingdom married to a Princes of Munjanad Kingdom, named Pampa about AD 1275 in the Pandalam Palace. The Palace astrologers found something extraordinary with the child that made the King and Queen suspicious of the child . Ayyappa at his early teens outsmarted the sons of Pandlam King in every respect

11. Ayyappa as sasthave under the care of sabari Both the Pandalam King and Queen, as cautioned by the Minister, feared that Ayyappa would capture the power, overthrowing the King, when he would grow up. So they plotted against Ayyappa and decided to leave him in the thick forest to be eaten by hungry wolfs or tigers. By knowing the criminal conspiracy of the King and Queen, Ayyappa, disguised as a Buddhist boy named Sasthave, was secretly sent by his mother, Pampa , to the Munjanad Kingdom with the request of keeping him under the care of Sabari.

12. Ayyappa in the munjanad palace Knowing the threat, the king of Munjanad secretly put the boy Ayyappa under the care of Sabari at Karimala for education and training, disguised as a Buddhist boy named Sasthave. Princes Neelima of the Munjanad Kingdom , Vaver , a Muslim boy and Matthai, a Christian boy were also students there. Sasthave or Ayyappa was the most brilliant student. After attaining mastery in Sanathana Dharma and Buddhist Dharma , Yoga , Ayurveda and Martial Art of Kalaripayattu , Ayyappa along with Princes Neelima returned to the palace of Munjanad King where he was known as Prince Sasthave . Ayyappa and Neelima throughout their life remained true devotees of Sabari who was also respectfully called ‘Sabari Matha ’ or ‘Sabari Devi’.

13. Erumely Pettakettu The name and fame of Prince Sasthave spread across the land and the neighboring Kingdom of Pandalam after defeating the invading fierce Pandiyan army. The enemies came there to loot the Kingdom using hundreds of buffalo carts . The enemies were forced to retreat towards the Muslim settlement where Vaver mobilized his Muslim army to support his friend,Sasthave . They together defeated the invading looters, besides killing their buffalos or ‘ erumakal ’. Sasthave and his men made a victory Parade at Muslim settlement that came to be known as ‘ Erumely Petta ’. The annual celebration of the remembrance of the victory parade of Ayyappa later became ‘ Erumely Pettakettu ’ jointly celebrated by Ayyappa Devotees, Muslims and Christians. The Muslims declared Sasthave as their protector.

14. Princes Neelima Princes Neelima, the daughter of the Munjanad King, fall in love with Sasthave or Ayyappa and they were about to marry. The King of Pandalam Kingdom got angry and revengeful towards the Kingdom of Munjanad for protecting Ayyappa and making him a disciple of Sabari in the disguise as a Buddhist under the name of Sasthave and declared war with Munjanad Kingdom. Ayyappa with the help of the armies of his friends Waver and Matthai, defeated and destroyed a sizable portion of the invading army of the Pandalam Kingdom. The revengeful king of Pandalam executed the father and mother of Ayyappa.

15. Zamurian Connection Munjanad Kingdom had trade relationship with the Zamurian , the king of Kozhikode. Buddhist monks from Lanka, Malayattoor, Perumpavoor , Kodugallor , Ponnani , Thiroor , and Dharmadam used to visit Munjanad Kings and stayed at Karimala. On the request of the Zamurian , a Young Prince of Munjanad Kingdom, who was a student of Sabari had married the only daughter of Zamurian and later became the Zamurian of Kozikode . He even appointed some of the well trained Muslim warriors of the Munjanad Kingdom in the service of Zamurian Kingdom. Kunjali Marakkar was their decent.

16. Pampa, Sabarimala and Dharma Sasthave When Sabari was very sick, she called Ayyappa and made him as the head of the Buddhist Monastery and Temple before her death designating him as Dharma Sasthave . Being the head of the monastery and temple, Ayyappa had to observe celibacy and he could not marry Princes Neelima. After the death of Sabari, Ayyappa named the Buddhist Temple, Monastery and Seminary Complex at Karimala as Sabarimala. He even constructed a shrine in her name and made her the deity of Sabarimala. After knowing the execution of his mother, Ayyappa named River Karimala as River Pampa in the memory of his mother, Pampa.

17. malikapuram As soon as Ayyappa was made as the head of the Buddhist monastery, Princes Neelima opted to live like a Buddhist monk, totally secluded in a separate room on the upstairs of the palace also known as ‘ malika ’ and she came to be known as ‘ Malikapuram ’. By knowing the pathetic condition of Princes Neelima,, Ayyappa invited her to Sabarimala and made her to serve the disciples and devotees and practice Ayurveda.

18. Malikapurathamma Malikapuram remained unmarried till her death serving the disciples and devotees at Sabarimala, staying in a separate small house. Everybody respectfully called her ‘ Malikapurathamma ’. She even visited and treated Vaver at Erumely when he was sick, staying in a small house near the Muslim temple. Later, the Muslim temple came to be known as ‘ Vaverupally ‘ and the house in which Malikapurathamma stayed came to be known as Kochambalam or Malikapuram Temple’.

19. Attacking & looting Pandalam Kingdom made a series of lootings and attacks of the Munjanad Kingdom for supporting Sabarimala and Sasthave . Consequently most of the precious wealth of the Munjanad Kingdom had been kept in the secret chambers of the Buddhist temple at Sabariamala . The Buddhist monks, disciples and students of Sabarimala rendered whole hearted support and protection to the King and Palace

20. The first Buddhist kingdom Consequently, Munjanad King and most of his subjects embraced Buddhism and the Kingdom of Munjanad became the first Buddhist kingdom in Kerala . That had provoked the Hindu kings of Pandlam , Pandinad and Andhranad who jointly declared war with Munjanad Kingdom as part of total cleansing of Buddhism from Keralam , including Kodugallor , Malayatoor , Dharmadam , Thrikannapuram , Karumady , Karunagappally , Karthikapply , Monippally and etc. .

21. Burning alive of Ayyappa and fall of Munjanad kingdom During the fierce war, the revengeful invaders murdered the King and put fire on Sabarimala. Ayyappa and Malikapurathamma were burned alive and Sabarimala was looted and destroyed without any traces. The victorious army of the Pandalam King destroyed the palace and looted the precious gold and diamond ornaments of Princes Neelima that had been kept there on the direction of Ayyappa and carried them to Pandlam in two boxes. They also carried out massive attacks, lootings and rapes of the households of the Buddhists and even murdered many. Many women were made captives and sex-slaves.

22. COLONIZATION OF ANDHRA and Tamil FIGHTERS After knowing the great famine in Tamilakam and Andhranad, the Hindu Fighters of those countries and their Brahmin priests, refused to return to their countries and the Pandalam king was forced to allow them to setup their colony in a low laying muddy area called Thazhamon and to marry the captive Buddhist women. The ownership of those women had been wrested with the Princes and Nampoothiries of Pandalam who could enter their houses at any time. Some of the captive Buddhist women were made sex slaves known as ‘ Devadasis ” or ‘ Koothachies ’. The Tamil and Andhra Brahmins remained very poor. The pathetic condition of the Brahmin family of Thazhamon was brought to the notice of the King who appointed its male members as the Palace priests with food and cloth allowances. The people called the Andhra and Tamil military men as ‘ Nayakers ’ and gradually they came to be known as Nair Fighters under powerful Namboothirs and Potties besides local chiefs.

23. Pandalam palace and Andhra Brahmins However, the Pandalam palace priests and astrologers predicted the decline of the Kingdom and prohibited the use the gold ornaments of Prince Neelima and looted items of Munjanad Palace. The king sought the help of the Andhra Brahmins for remedy and special sacrifices. In spite of all those rituals, the blood stains of Sabarimala and Nilakkal haunted the Kingdoms of Pandalam, Tamil and Andhra, leading to their decline and collapse.

24. Mass Exodus of Buddhists With the fall of Munjanad Kingdom and the destruction of Sabarimala, the survived Buddhists made a mass exodus to neighboring areas, including Ranni , Thiruvella , Chenganoor , Changanacherry , Kottayam , Kanjriappally , Pala, Thodupuza , Moovattupuzha , Perumpavoor , Kalady and Malayattoor under several groups. Those who migrated to Kottayam set up ‘Munjanad Kingdom at Thazathnagadi when they became powerful. Some of the survivors found shelter in the thick forests and became forest tribes in different names such as Malayarans , Ulladens and Malapandarams . Gradually, Sabarimala and Nilakkal turned into thick forests occupied by wild tigers, wolfs and elephants.

25. Mass Conversions to Islam and Christianity Brutal religious prosecution of the Buddhists had been carried out. In order to escape from religious prosecution, some of the Buddhists embraced either Islam or Christianity and lived like Arab Muslims or Christians from Syria who had been given special privilege and protection by the Chera Kings. Thereafter, Christians were known as Nazranies or Vadukars or Syrian Christians as they were under Bishops from Syria and Muslims as Turks or ‘ Thulukars ’ for their Turkish connection. Both Muslims and Christians were together called as ‘ Mopilas ’. However, they followed some of their old Buddhist traditions and culture , including white long dress, Kalari and Ayurveda, trade and agriculture and they even called their temples as ‘ Pallies ’, as Buddhists called their temples as Pallies and schools as Pallykoodum .

26. Buddhists, Ezhavas and Pulayas An ardent group of Buddhists dared to remain Buddhists and moved towards Kanjirappally and set up their colony at Parathode in Kanjirappally with some of the treasures of Sabarimala. Nevertheless, a sizable number of Buddhists had not converted either to Islam or Christianity, but remained non-practicing Buddhists engaged in agriculture and rearing domestic animals and they came to be known as Ezhavas or Theyas or Chovers specializing in farming, coconut climbing and toddy making. Those Buddhists who were working in the mud and engaging in butchery were called as Pulayas and Parayas or Chermers .

27. Buddhist Place and family names in kerala In Kerala there are several Places and Families suffixed with the term ‘Pally’ showing their Buddhist roots. Place names such as ‘ Koovappally ’, Kanjrappally , Thathampally , Monippally …are some of the examples. The Buddhist roots of the several Hindu, Muslim and Christian Families in Kerala can be found in their family names such as Vellappally , Kadakampally , Pittappilly , Koippally , Kollappally , Chittilappally , Kallampally , Kokkappally and so many others.

28. Nairs, Brahmins & untouchables Later, the Brahmins became influential landlords and temple priests making Nairs their servants and guards or warriors. Some of the Nair women became very influential over rich Brahmin landlords and they became powerful landlords who had kept their men without any property ownership rights. Gradually, they earned upper status in the society just below the Brahmins. Ezhavas and Pulayas were considered impure and untouchables. However, Christians and Muslims had been given special status in the society for their money power and trade contacts .

29. Pandlam Palace and ‘ Thiruvabharanam After the brutal murder of the Munjanad King, Ayyappa and Malikapurthamma , everybody in the Pandalam kingdom considered that they had the curse of Sabari, Dharma Sasthave and Malikapurathamma, as there were series of tragedies in the Pandalam Palace . Nobody in the Pandalam Palace dared even to touch the bounty of Sabarimala as everybody believed that it would bring doom to the Kingdom. As a remedy, it was decided to construct one temple for Sabari, Dharma Sasthave and Malikapurathamma each. As repentance, it was decided to carry out the gold ornaments of Princes Neelima, calling it as ‘ Thiruvabhaaranam ’ to Sabarimala during Makarasankrathi Day and return it to Pandalam Palace.

30. Pilgrimage to Sabarimala On every 14th day of January, the Makarasankrathy day on which Ayyappa and Malikapurthamma were brutally murdered, some of the daring and Sabari or Ayyappa devotee Buddhist, Ezhava , Pulaya , Malayaraya , Muslim and Christian men and women, used to make annual pilgrimages in the temple of Dharma Sasthave and Malikapurthamma at Sabarimala. In order to hide their Buddhist roots they dressed with black cloth instead of their usual white dress, calling each other ‘Ayyappa or Ayyappa Swamy ’ and chanting ‘Dharma Manthras ’

31. Makara Joythi or Vilakku . The forest tribes settled at Ponnamabala Medu , near Sabarimala became the Custodians and Tantries or Priests who used honey for rituals. They used to put a big pier, danced around it and chanted Ayyappa Manthras on Makara Sankranthi day remembering Ayyappa and Malikapurathamma. The pilgrims at the top of Sabarimala considered it something divine and called Makara Joythi or Makara Vilakku .

32. Erumudikettu or Twin Black Bag Carrying head-loads of food and religious articles in a twin black cloth bag, chanting Dharma Manthras , wearing black cloths and, long beads after forty one days of preparations, including prayers, celibacy and strict vegetarian food, Ayyappa devotees performed the Sabarimala pilgrimage in one of the two occasions, saying goodbye to the family members and friends, as there was no guarantee of safe return from Sabarimala due to man eating animals and notorious thieves and criminals.

33. Swamy Saranam and Ayyappa Saranam The devotees, chanting Dharma and Ayyappa Manathras , such as ‘ Swamy Saranam and Ayyappa Saranam entered in Sabarimala in small groups. The women pilgrims were respectfully called as ‘ Malikapurams ’. In order to reach Sabarimala, one had to walk several days through thick forests without any road or other facility, risking the life and facing wild tigers, elephants and deadly poisonous snakes . Only daring women devotees used to make pilgrimage to Sabarimala .

34. Vaverupally and Kochambalam The Sabarimala Ayyappa devotees used to stay one or two days at Nilakkal, in different small groups under the direction of elderly persons, called Guru Swamies , well versed in religious practices and the safest forest route, through Erumely, visiting Vaverupally and Kochambalam . The Muslims and Christians in Erumely used to treat Ayyappa devotees or Sabarimala Pilgrims as their guests and rendered all help and support to them till Erumely and Sabarimala had developed with transportable roads, restaurants and hotels.

35. Women and untouchables However, ardent Hindus, including Nairs and Brahmins had not been visiting Sabarimala for their religious and historical hate towards Buddhism. The untouchable Ezhavas , Pulayas and Forest Tribes besides the Muslims and Christians considered Sabarimala as their ancestral pilgrimage Centre, Sabari their Deity and Ayyappa their own Protector and Malikapurathmma their Goddess without any caste or religion. Women pilgrims of all ages or castes or religions used to visit Sabarimala and had respectfully been called as ‘ Malikapurams ’ having special privileges . Nobody dared to do any harm or disrespect to them.

36. MODERN HISTORY OF SABARIMALA Modern History of Sabarimala started with the rise of the Kingdom of Travancore with Marthandavarma as king from 1729 to 1758 AD under the Dewanship of Ramayyan Dalwa . The Travancore Kingdom spread across Periyar to Cape Comerin after defeating and annexing Kingdoms of Kayamkulam , Mavelikkara , Elayadth Swarrompam , Quilon , Thazathangadi , and Cochin . He even put Zamorins of Calicut under threat . Without any war, Pandalam king surrendered before Marthandavarma and became one of his Principalities for its financial and administrative crises and recurring misfortunes.

37. Treasures of sabarimala & kanjirappally Ramayyan Dalawa , Prime Minister of Marthandavarma defeated the Nampoothiries having armies of Nairs. Some of the defeated Nampoothiries and Nairs converted to Christianity . From Pandalam King, Marthandavarma came to know about the vast treasures of the erstwhile Munjanad Kingdom kept in the secret chambers of Sabarimala, the Buddhist pilgrimage center and another sizable share with the Buddhist settlement at Parathode in Kanjirappally . Marthandavarma sent his army to take possession of the great treasures of Sabarimala and Buddhist settlement at Kanjirappally and eliminated all the traces of Buddhism in Sabarimala, Nilakkal, Kanjirappally and even Malayattoor.

38. Buddhist treasures at travancore palace In its search for the hidden treasures at Sabarimala, the Travancore army with the support of the Pandalam Palace destroyed all remaining structures of Nilakkal and Sabarimala, except a statue of meditating Buddha mistaken as Shiva and finally unearthed several box full of precious metals, gold coins and ornaments . Then the army moved to destroy the Buddhist settlement at Kanjirappally and loot the precious wealth. After a prolonged war, the army had defeated the Buddhists in Kanjirappally and taken possession of the vast treasures kept in several boxes. Travancore army had transported all the treasure boxes to the Travancore Palace at Anthapuram or Trivandrum.

39. Padbhanabha swamy Temple’s secret treasures worth billions A series of tragic incidents had happened in the Palace, including the king’s sleepless nights, terrifying dreams, frequent falls from the royal couch , a serious wound during royal hunting and chronic illness of the queen. On the advices of the palace priests and astrologers, Marthandavarma decided to shift the entire treasures of Sabarimala and Kanjirappally and keep them in the secret cells of the chambers of the Padbhanabha Swami Temple , Thiruvanathapuram as something haunted or cursed .

40. Sabarimala as a Hindu Pilgrimage Center During the time of Ramayyan Delava , the Prime Minister of Travancore under Marthandavarma , attempts had been made to convert Sabarimala as a pure Hindu Temple and Pilgrimage Centre making use of Hindu Mythologies and Ayyappa as a mythological entity, taking away his Buddhist root . Accordingly, Ayyappa was presented as the son of the Union between two Hindu male gods, Siva and Vishu and projected as the destroyer of Mahishasura , demon looked like a buffalo so as to prevent the arrival of Buddhists during Makarasankranthi day.

41. Sabarimala under direct control of Travancore Ramayyan Delava wanted to have a direct control over the forest wealth and spices of the Central Travancore and he nationalized trade of spices and forest products. He appointed Mathen Taraken of Munjand family as the local chief and the custodian of the spices and the forest wealth, including that of Sabarimala region. Ramayyan Delava constructed a Siva Temple in Nilakkal and appointed some employees there. However, the Kerala and Tamil Brahmins refused to perform as priests in Sabarimala and Nairs refused to enter Sabarimala even during Makarasankarathi .

42. Malayatoor as a Christian Pilgrimage Center By knowing that a large number of Christians, Thiyas and Pulayas of Buddhist root had been performing pilgrimage to the Malayatoor Hill, Ramayyan Delava encouraged Christians to convert it as a Christian Pilgrimage Center. Mythology related to the prayer and meditation of St.Thomas , one of the disciples of Jesus had been attributed to the Malayatoor Hill, had been crafted and made popular even though the pilgrims used to climb to the top chanting Buddha Manthra as ‘ Muthappan Saranam ’ in stead of ‘ Ayyappa Saranama ’ at Sabarimala. Christians and Hindus used to climb the top of the hill during the eve of Easter

43. C.P.ramaswamy iyar As soon as Sir C.P. Ramasway Iyer became the Deleva of Travancore, he made strenuous efforts to cut off the minutest Buddhist traces of Sabarimala and Ayyappa by placing the King of Pandalam as the foster father of Ayyappa and elevated Ayyappa to the status of a Hindu deity and even constructed a Hindu temple making Ganapathi and Malikapurthamma as sub-deities . He prohibited Ezhavas, Pulayas and Forest Tribal people to perform as priests or tantries of Sabarimala but only Brahmins.

44. Tantry , priests and women pilgrims Since Brahmins from Kerala refused to serve Sabarimala, one Brahmin family of Andhra origin called Thazathumon was appointed as the Tantry of Sabarimala and later Kerala Brahmins were made as priests of Nilakkal and Sabarimala. C.P. Ramasway Iyer encouraged Nairs in large numbers to perform pilgrimage to Sabarimala. Daring young women devotees used to visit Sabarimala as ‘ Malikapurms ’, after observing fasting and vegetarianism and walking through deep forest tracks, though it involves great risk, including tiger attacks and sexual harassment by the criminals. Gradually the number of women pilgrims had been reduced considerably.

45. Prohibition of Women However, the Kerala High Court prohibited women having menstrual cycle or childbearing age to visit Sabarimala in its verdict in 1990 that has been recently revoked by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court of India. The verdict indirectly challenged the ownership right of Pandalam Royal family and the Sabarimala Tantri or Priest Family from Andhra over Sabarimala . They instigated conservative Hindus in Kerala, including women, to protest violently against Supreme Court Verdict permitting women of all ages to enter Sabarimala as something against Hinduism and Sabarimala practices. Political parties like BJP and Congress rushed to make use of it for their political advantages.

46. Violent agitations Sabarimala Agitation against the entry of young women has turned violent having several legal and political consequences and gone out of the control as well as that of BJP and RSS that exploited it effectively for their political agenda . Criminals and even well trained Islamic State fighters disguised as ‘ Ayyappa Devotees’ have been attacking old women pilgrims and children as the Protectors of Ayyappa and Sabarimala, along with conservative caste Hindus. Their aim is the end of Sabarimala as a pilgrim center without any caste or religion for its Buddhist root but to bring it under the ownership of Pandalam Palace and Tantry family .

47. The Hope & prayer It is hoped that Sabarimala and Ayyappa do remain free from any caste or religion or political controversy or violence or bloodshed as they are the embodiment of Humanism, Universality and Spirituality of Sanathana Dharma rooted in the Buddhist Yoga and Dharma for realizing ‘ Thathwamasi ’ or ‘ Aham Brahmasmi ’.

48. conclusion This write up is based on what I read on Ancient Kerala History, my discussions with Professors M.G.S. Narayanan, Rghava Warrior and M. M. Purushotaman Nair of Calicut University besides, some members of Zamurian family, Calicut , elder members of my paternal Munjanad family, Kanjirappally and maternal Mannoor family at Pala. On the basis of new evidences, it can be modified. It can be used for bringing out attractive films and TV programs as Sabarimala has attracted global attention . Further research must be conducted to explore the hidden chapters of the local History of Kerala.

49. Sabrimala ayyappa - embodiment of kerala culture Sabarimala is the embodiment of Culture and Socio-Economic-Political Life of Kerala. It is a confluence of several streams of faiths and religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism as well as Islam and Christianity . Ayyappa, emerged as Dharmasastha, represents Sanathana Dharma and higher Hindu & Buddhist Yoga and Meditation. The principle deities of Sabarimala are Sabari, Dharmasastha and Malikapurathamma, with Vaverswamy as a sub-deity; later Siva and Ganesh were extrapolated as part of the strategy of Brahmanicalization of Ayyappa and Sabarimala.

50. About the author On the basis of his book published from UK in 1981, Dr. R. M. Mathew was nominated to two international expert committees,, having consultative status with UN & UNESCO, as the youngest member in 1983. In 1985, he formulated two basic theories on Knowledge Consumption & Production, now known as Mathew’s Theories of Knowledge, published from Moscow. They have become an area for doctoral research works. In 2005, Dr. Mathew propounded Knowmatics, Cybernetics of Knowledge. Dr. Mathew has supervised 12 doctoral works based on the Vedas & Upanishads, the Bible & Quran, Ayurveda & Tribal Medicine, Higher Education Management, IT & Kerala Development. Dr. Mathew writes extensively on Global Economic Crisis, Islamic Terrorism, Education and Information Technology. Most of his works have wider readership and appeared over eight languages, including Arabic, Chinese, ….. Twitter@drrajumathew , Linkedin : https:// ae.linkedin.com/in/munjanad