There is an incessant flow of devotees, purified by the observance of
41day penance, to Sabarimala. Once the sacred chain is worn, the pilgrim
becomes one with the lord. Therefore, sanctity of the penance is of prime
most importance.
The penance for pilgrimage should start on the first
day of Malayalam month Vrishchikam when sun god starts moving in the path of
salvation and those who plan to go earlier should start the penance
accordingly.
First timers should observe 51 days of penance as
against the 41 to be observed by senior pilgrims. All men who observe the
mandatory penance can get darshanam, but women above the age of 10 and below
50 are not permitted inside the temple.
Wearing the chain with lord
Ayyappa's image on the pendant
As a symbol of observing penance, one has
to wear the chain with lord Ayappa's image on the pendant. The chain has to
be first sanctified at a temple or by a senior pilgrim before it is worn.
The best days to wear the chain are Saturdays and Uthram the birth star of
lord Ayyappa.
The chain may be made of basil (Tulsi) or Rudraksha.
Once the penance begins, one has to take bath twice a day and observe strict
celibacy.
The mantra to be chanted while wearing sacred chain:
Jnana mudram shasthra mudram, guru mudram namamyaham
Vana mudram shuddha
mudram rudra mudram namamyaham
Shanta mudram satya mudram vrata mudram
namamyaham
Sabaryashrama satyena mudram paathu sadaapimem
Gurudakshinaya purvam tasyanugraha karane
Sharanagata mudrakhyam
tanmudram dharayamyaham
Sabraya chala mudrayayai namastubhyam namo namah
Meaning – I offer my salutations to the symbol of wisdom, the learned
texts, the preceptor, the forest and purity. I offer my salutations to the
symbol of peace, truth, penance; may the Truth of shabari's hermitage ever
protect this symbol.
After seeking and securing the compassionate
grace and blessings of my preceptor, O Lord, I will wear this symbol of my
complete surrender seeking refuge in You. I offer my salutation to the
symbol of pure intellect, the celestial beings, and auspiciousness. O symbol
of the shabari hill, I offer my salutations to you again and again.
If penance is broken
Without penance of 41 days one should not visit the
temple. However, if by some reason the penance were to be broken, one has to
start it all over again and observe without any lapse for the entire 41
days. If the pilgrim is polluted for some reason, he has to ask for
forgiveness, sanctify himself with Panchgavya and chant the name of lord
Ayyappa 101 times.
Gurudakshina
The person who has visited the
temple the maximum number of times shall be accepted as the guru or the team
leader. The guru should tie and close the holy kit in which the offerings
are carried.
The guru can be given offerings on eight occasions.
They are, while wearing the chain, before receiving the holy kit from him,
before starting the customary ecstatic dancing as a form of worship by
pilgrims at Erumeli (Petta thullal), while beginning the trek through the
forest to the temple, when the guru sanctifies and hands over the stone
collected from river Azhutha, when the guru places the holy kit on the
pilgrim's head after taking bath in river Pampa and after the sacrificial
offerings to ones forefathers, while picking up the holy kit after the visit
to the shrine and while removing the chain after the trip.
Offerings
Ghee that is carried in the coconut in the kit is used for Ghee abhishekam
(anointing the deity with ghee).
Sacred ash, milk, honey,
panjamritam, tender coconut water, sandal paste, rose water and water are
required for anointing the deity with the eight aforementioned fluids
(ashtabhishekam).
Sandal and rose water are used for Kalabhabhisekam.
Lotus, jasmine, basil, chrysanthemum, nerium oleander (arali) and crataeva
(koovalam) are used in pushpabhishekam.
Vedi Vazhipadu
The counter
for this is situated on the right side of the beginning of the big roofed
pathway. There are counters near Malikappuram temple, near the temple tower,
near the platforms near Sabari Peetham and Karimala.
Free food
(Annadaanam)
There are five spots were free food is served in the temple
surroundings. Near Malikappuram temple there is a devaswamrun annadaanam
counter. Every day as many as 5,000 people are given free lunch comprising
of rice, sambhar, avial and so on.
The Ayyappa Seva Sangham provides
free food three times a day Upma, lunch and rice porridge (kanji). Shree
Bothanatha Trust provides medicinal rice porridge (aushadha kanji) from 10
in the morning till night. Trusts such as Paropakara and Akshaya have also
got permissions to provide annadaanam in the temple premises.
At
Pampa, Pampa devaswom , Ayyappa Seva Sangham and Pampa Vigneshwara Sadyalaya
Samiti offer free food.
While removing the sacred chain
One can
remove the sacred chain on returning home after the pilgrimage. A lamp must
be lit when pilgrims reaches back home. They should enter their homes
chanting the lord's name. The holy kit should be kept in the prayer room or
the place from where it was tied by the guru and handed over.
The
following mantra should be chanted while removing the chain and placing it
on the photo or idol Ayappa:
Apoorva machala roha
divya darhsna
karana
shastra mudratwaka deva
dehime vrata mochanam
Preparing
the holy kit
Articles required to prepare the holy kit include Coconuts,
ghee, black dhoti, black towel, camphour, rice, rice powder, rice flakes and
puffed rice, turmeric powder, incense, dried grapes, silk, betel leaves,
arecanut, rose water, cork, coins, white towel, bed sheet, papad and a
string.
The front compartment of the holy kit will contain offerings
to be made at Malikappuram temple and lord Ayyappa. The rear compartment
will contain the pilgrim's eatables. The front compartment signifies
spirituality while the rear one stands for material life.
The guru
will seal the kit in front of a lighted lamp. The coconut, shorn of its
fibre, is emptied first by drilling a hole at its mouth and is then filled
with ghee and closed with a cork and sealed with the wet papad while the
pilgrims keep chanting the lord's name.
Coins and arecanut need to be
kept on the betel leaves and tied with a thread. The gheefilled coconut is
to be put in the kit first, followed by the betel and arecanut pack to be
offered tokochukadutha swami (Lord Ayyappa's disciple and Cheftain).
The pilgrim whose kit is being filled has to chant the lord's name and take
three handfuls of rice to be put in the kit. The two compartments of the kit
have to be tied separately and then a common knot will keep the two intact.
After that all the elders are given dakshina (an offering of betel
leaves, arecanut and a coin). The black cloth has to be tied around the
waist and the pilgrim has to keep the bed sheet on his or her head over
which the kit is placed and tied with white towel.
Finally, the
pilgrimage begins after the offering of Dakshina to the guru.
