Ayyappankovil Sree Dharma Sastha Temple: A Prototype by Rajesh

Mr.Rajesh, a jeweller and an artist hailing from the village of Ayyappankovil is a devotee of the Lord Shri.Ayyappan. His faith in the temple and the lord is anchored deep through many years.

He has designed an initial prototype for the proposed new temple which is to be constructed at the current location.

Recent Past

In a survey conducted in 1965 for the construction of Idukki Arch Dam it was found that the Ayyappankovil temple and the town was situated inside the surveyed area of Dam Catchments. For constructing the Dam it was necessary to shift the temple from Ayyappankovil to some other place. But according to the Thantra Sasthra, it was not possible to shift the temple from Ayyappankovil. The Government officils through a court order decided to shift the temple complex from Ayyappankovil to place called Thoppippala. A 'devaprasnam' vas conducted and it was found many times that the temple cannot be shifted. Though at last it was decided to conduct a 3 days 'homam' and shift Lord Ayyappa to a new temple. But the homam went up to 10 days. At last in one fine Midnight some antisocial elements broke the temple and took out the 'Ayyappa Vigraham'. Next day morning the devotees of Lord Ayyappa could see the KSEB officials carrying the Vigraha from Ayyappankovil with police protection. Though the Vigraham was taken away to Thoppippala the temple complex at Ayyappankovil was still remaining. The Tribes and the people in the surrounding localities still went to this temple and continued worshipping Ayyappa. By the construction of the Arch Dam the people from Ayyappankovil were removed and the township was totally demolished. Thus Ayyappankovil township went to History. Thus the temple was demolished for the seventh time.After the shifting of the temple to Thoppippala, 'Davaprasnam' was conducted and it was clear that the presence of Lord Ayyappa is still completely in the old Ayyappankovil and not in Thoppippala. The people at Ayyappankovil is still suffering from many out bursts of demolishing the temple.To protect the the people here it was necessary to rebuild the temple at Ayyappankovil. But it was a question in front of the villagers. The land was possessed by KSEB and no constructions were allowed there. Though in 2001 some 50 people came together to rebuild the temple. They started rebuilding the temple but by this time the KSEB officials with police came there and blocked the construction of the temple. The devotees of Lord Ayyappa there were utterly disappointed by the act of KSEB officials and they could find no way to restart the construction work.

Little History

In the olden days 'Malayala Desam' (Kerala) was devided into various 'Thalikas' (as districts today) and these 'thalikas' were ruled by 'Thaliyathirees'. Later these Thaliyathirees quarreled each other and Malayala Desam was turned to be a kingdom without a king. In those days there were certain group of people formed to help the ruler like 'Munnoottavar' (Group of three hundred), 'Arunoottavar' (Group of six hundred), Naattukkoottam, Desakkoottam etc. These group jointly decided to bring rulers From 'Pandi Nadu' to rule Malayala Desam. Thus 'Perumakkal' were brought to rule Malayala Desam. These rulers were based in Madhurai and Thier goddess was Sree Madhura Meenakshi. It is believed that when these perumals came to Malayaladesam, their goddess Madhura Meenakshi also came with them. Along with the Perumals, a group called Mannans also came to Malayala Desam. These Mannans were given the responsibility to rule the Kovil Mala forest area as a separate kingdom. On the banks of river 'Periyar' these mannans found parts of a demolished temple. Through a traditional technique called 'Kaniyittunokkal' practiced only by these mannans they confirmed that the temple was a Sree Dharmasastha temple. They started worshipping ayyappa and started calling him 'Periyathappan'. On the request of the tribal king the Perumal ruler (Cheramaan Perumal) rebuilt the temple and handed it over to the tribes (Mannans). They started offering traditional poojas and rituals to Ayyappa. They conducted many 'Ulsavas' (festivals) like 'Kaalaavoottu', 'Meenoottu', 'Mannaakoothu' etc., and these Ulsavas are closely related to Ayyappankovil temple. After many thousands of years the poojas were again conducted by brahmins and when the temple had been re built by the Cheraman Perumal, for the safety of the brahmin poojaries who had been conducting poojas in the temple, made some underground rooms and caves since the temple was surrounded by forests and wild animals. From the underground structure 3 caves had been made: one to the riverside, another one to Sabarimala and the third one had been built to either Madhura. It is said that this temple had been destroyed seven times. In A.D. 700 the Madhura ruler rebuilt the temple and in a war the temple had been demolished again. Again after thousands of years Brahmins from Chalamkottu Illam turned up to take the responsibility of conducting poojas for Lord Ayyappa here. Lord Ayyappa became happy and blessed Ayyappankovil with wealth and prosperity. Ayyappankovil became the major trade centre in Kerala. Idukki is well rich for spices and its trading. During this period Ayyappankovil was the main centre in Idukki for buyers and sellers of Spices. There were several government offices in Ayyappankovil like Court, Police Station, Forest Station, Range Office, Post Office etc. There was a big market and a big bus stand in Ayyappankovil.

Ayyappankovil Sree Dharma Sastha Temple

A Prototype by Rajesh

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Recent Past

Little History

Temple before renovation to the present status

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