Ayyappa Swamy Story - Boothanaathopaakhyaanam

The Boothanaathopaakhyaanam is the main Puraana related to Dharma Saastha or Ayyappa. Dharma Sastha is also known as Boothanaatha, because from Him-the supreme Reality – evolved the Pancha bootha -s, the five elements, or the five phases of evolution from the subtlest to the grossest, as Aakaasa (the physical space), Vaayu (the gaseious stage), Aghni (the fiery stage, or the stage of chemical combination), Apa (the stage of liquidity) and Prithvi (the stage of solidity).

Brahma, Vishnu and Siva are described in the Puraanas as the three major divine aspects of  supreme Reality associated with creation, maintenance and dissolution of the universe. These Divinities, granting the prayer of a Rishi-couple Athri and Anasooya, took a partial manifestation as their son Datta. The consorts of the Divinities also thereupon took a partial manifestation as Leela, the daughter of another great Rishi. Datta eventually married Leela and after living a few years of conjugal love, he wanted to renounce the worldly life and engage in spiritual disciplines to transcend his conditioned being and to be one with his greater existence.But Leela would not agree to this. She wanted to continue the life of mundane pleasure in the company of Datta, who tried to convince her that one can never find lasting contentment in a lustful life. But Leela was adamant. An enraged Datta cursed her to be born as a Mahishi, a senseless shebuffalo to satisfy her desires. 

In course of time, Leela took birth as a bizarre creature with the head of a she-buffalo and the body of a woman. She was very powerful because of her divine origin, but very dull-witted because of her buffalo nature. She did intense penance and propitiated Lord Brahma, who granted the boons she desired for, such as that powerful creatures very much like herself would emerge out of all her hair follicles whenever she wanted and that she could not be killed except by one who was born out of a union of Lord Vishnu and Lord Siva, which was thought to be an impossibility.

Having obtained this boon, she struck terror in the heavens, the abode of Deva-s (godly beings) and drove them and their king Indra away. She placed herself on the throne of Indra as the ruler of the heavens. The oppressed Devas prayed to Brahama, Vishnu and Shiva for their intervention. Thereupon, Datta, who had emerged out of the combined power of the Trinities as their partial manifestation, now assumed, as the result of an earlier curse of Leela, the form of a handsome buffalo, the Sundara-Mahisha. Consequently Mahishi fell in love with Mahisha. They lived together for some time in the heavens and then Sundara Mahisha lured her away down to the earth to live in the forests. This gave some relief to the oppressed Devas.

It was during this period, Sage Durvaasa, who was well known for his impulsive and vitriolic temper, cursed Indra and the Devas, who had enjoyed perennial youthfulness, to be subjected to old age, as Indra had offered the sage by not showing due respect to a garland presented to him by the sage. Their heads turned grey and wrinkles appeared all over their bodies. The panacea suggested for regaining youth was the drinking of a special nectar Amritha to be obtained by the churning of the Ocean of Milk (Ksheera-saagara). The Devas prevailed upon their arch enemies the Asuras (demoniac forces) for help to perform the herculian task of churning the milky ocean using a huge mountain as the churning rod. Several novel and astonishing things emerged from the ocean when the churning progressed and in the end when a pot with the precious nectar, Amritha surfaced, it was quickly snatched away by the Asuras.

Seeing the plight of the Devas, Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a beautiful enchantress called Mohini and approached the Asuras. Every one of them got infatuated with her. She asked them to close their eyes, agreeing to marry the one who would open the eyes last. While the Asuras remained closing their eyes, Mohini left the scene carrying away the pot of Amritha, which she handed over to the Devas. On seeing the enchanting form of Mohini, Lord Siva himself fell in love with her and from their union a son was born to Mohini. This was Dharma Saastha, who was destined to kill Mahishi, according to the boon given to her by Lord Brahma that only the one born from the union of Siva and Vishnu could kill her.

In several Puraanas the story of the churning of the Ocean of Milk finds a place. But only in the Bhaagavatha and the Skanda Puraana-s there is a reference to a son, who was born out of a union between Shiva and Vishnu. Skanda Puraana gives the name of the son as Saastha. The story of Saastha is elaborated further in the Boothanathopaakhyaanam.

According to this Puraana the child thus born to Siva and Vishnu was destined to kill Mahishi and he was placed by the Devas on earth on the banks of the river Pampa, where Mahishi was living along with Sundara Mahisha. During this time, Raajasekhara, the king of a small kingdom Pandalam (in south Kerala), was engaging himself in a hunting expedition. When he was moving along the banks of the river Pampa, he saw a crying child in a secluded spot. He took the child to his palace and brought him up as his foster son. The child was named “Ayyappan”/ “Ayyappa”. The child, who was named Ayyappan, grew up in the palace under the affectionate care of king Raajasekhara, who had no son of his own. The boy proved himself to be a genius and mastered the Vedas and the martial science quickly. His spiritual power was expressed when he miraculously cured his Guru’s son who was born blind, deaf and dumb. The childless king was happy that he could find a worthy heir to his throne. Then, an unexpected turn occurred. The queen became pregnant and delivered a son.

The prime minister of Pandalam disliked the idea of the king installing Ayyappa as the heir to the kingdom. For, he considered the boy to be an orphan and also a potent threat to his authority. He tried several ways to do away with Ayyappa, but failed. At last he instigated the queen to feign a severe illness and the royal physician to prescribe that the only remedy was a certain medicine to be taken along with the milk of a tiger. The brave youth Ayyappa volunteered to go to the forests to fetch the tiger’s milk. The minister was certain that the helpless boy would never return and would be killed by the beasts.

During this period, Mahishi was living in the forests forgetting everything else, engaging herself in a lustful life along with Sundara Mahisha. Meanwhile, being deceived by Vishnu in the form of Mohini, the Asuras were aghast and depressed. They rushed to Mahishi and implored her for help. They told her how she herself was enticed from the heavens by Sundara Mahisha, who was a creation of the three Divinities for that purpose. 

Meanwhile, Sundara Mahisha disappeared and rejoined the three Divinities. Realizing her folly, Mahishi became terribly furious and rushed to the heavens with thousands of creatures like herself who emerged from her hair follicles. They devastated the kingdom of Indra. It was then the boy Ayyappa reached the forests, to fetch leopard’s milk for the queen. The Devas came down and took refuge at the feet of Ayyappa, because being the son of Siva and Vishnu; he alone could destroy the terrible Mahishi. Ayyappa accompanied them to the heavens. He caught hold of Mahisi by her horns, lifted her and hurled her downwards. She fell near the river, Azutha. Lying there incapacitated, and having had the divine touch of Ayyappa, she immediately recollected her original divine nature and sang in praise of him. As the compassionate glance of Ayyappa fell on her, there emerged out of her bizarre body an extremely beautiful Goddess, now worshipped as Goddess Malikappurath-amma in Sabarimala. 

Thereafter, Ayyappa returned to the kingdom of Pandalam, riding a huge tiger and  accompanied by a host of ferocious beasts. The people were flabbergasted at this incredible sight. The king, the queen and all others realized the divinity of Ayyappa and all of them prostrated before him. Ayyappa imparted to them spiritual wisdom about the meaning and destiny of human life. The king prayed to the Lord to bless them with his everlasting spiritual presence in a temple to be dedicated to him, for showering his Grace to millions for  generations to come. That would be especially necessary in the present Iron Age (Kali Yuga ) when people would increasingly tend to be self-centred and materialistic, bringing much disharmony to life. The king implored Ayyappa to bless all by assuming himself the aspect of Kali-yuga -varada , the spiritual power that would protect the people from the evil propensities of the Iron Age and guide them in their striving for spiritual liberation. Thereupon, the lord suggested a holy spot and advised the king to construct a temple there. The Lord assured him that the temple would ever be vibrant with his Divine Presence and then He disappeared. 

Eventually the king constructed a temple in the deep forest of Sabarimala as suggested by the Lord. During the consecration of the idol there was the presence of great sages like Agasthya, Parasurama and others. It was sage Parasurama who installed the idol of Lord Ayyappa seated in the Yogic pose Veeraasanam and showing the mystic sign of Chinmudra by the right hand. This is the Puraanic version.