The R.A.Puram Iyyappa swami Temple
The 40 feet tall, single piece Devastambha (flag-post)
The Main Shrine
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King Rajasekara of the Pandya dynasty ruled the kingdom of Pandala, in
Kerala. A king well-versed in all facets, he was a just ruler, and peace and prosperity
prevailed in his kingdom. But though he had a loving wife, well-wishing subjects and
scores of riches, his only travail was that he had no son to be his heir. Being staunch
devotees of Lord Shiva, he and his wife prayed to the Lord that they be blessed with a
child.
While all was well in the land, deep in the forest, Mahishi the sister of Mahishasura, was
in severe penance to seek the favour of Lord Brahma, to avenge the slaying of her brother
by Goddess Shakti. Brahma who was impressed by her penance, appeared before her and asked
her what boon she sought from him. Mahishi sought that she would not be slain by any
offspring of Shiva or Vishnu or anybody else in the world. Brahma granted her this wish
and vanished. Armed with this boon, Mahishi invaded the heavens and started tormenting the
Devas.
The Devas who had been subjected to Durvasa's curse had started ageing and were becoming
weak. They learnt that they could regain their natural strength only by tasting the Amrit
(sacred nectar) found in the depths of the Ocean of Milk. When they indeed succeeded in
obtaining the nectar, the Asuras immediately took posession of the nectar. The Devas
prayed to Lord Vishnu who appeared in the form of Mohini, the enchantress and retreived
the nectar from the Asuras.
Meanwhile, Lord Shiva who had come there to see Vishnu in the form of Mohini was enchanted
by her appearance. He begot a son from Mohini and decided to give it to his dear devotee,
King Rajasekara, and thus fulfil the king's wish. But before he took the child down to
earth, he tied a golden bell around the child's neck.
One day, when King Rajasekara was out hunting with his retinue on the banks of the river
Pampa, he heard the cries of a child nearby. He ran in the direction of the cry and
quickly found the child. He was stunned at the child's beauty. Even as he sat there
admiring it, he was not sure of what he should do with the child. At the same time, a sage
appeared on the scene and advised him not to be confused. He told him that this child had
been born to fulfil his wish for a child and asked him to take it with him. He also asked
him to name the child Manikandan (after the Bell on his neck), and said that the truth
about the child would be revealed when he would be twelve years old.
The king was thrilled to hear this. He happily took the child with him to his palace, gave
it to his queen and told her about the incident. The queen's happiness knew no bounds and
she eagerly took up the child in her arms. The people of Pandala who heard that their king
had been blessed with a heir were happy and there was rejoicing in the kingdom. The only
person in the entire kingdom who was unhappy was the Diwan who secretly believed that he
would one day be king because the king had no heir.
Manikandan grew up soon and was sent to Gurukula to get trained in the various arts and
sciences. Seeing his extraordinary talents, the Guru was quick to realise that he was no
ordinary child. When Manikandan completed his education and offered his Gurudakshina
(fees) to the Guru, he refused to accept it but asked Manikandan for a favour. He
requested him to cure his son who was both blind and dumb. All Manikandan had to do was to
bless the child and he was cured of his ailments. They joined their hands in gratefulness
but Manikandan politely said that it was his Dakshina to his Guru but requested him that
this incident would remain a secret.
Meanwhile, Rajasekara's Queen was blessed with a baby boy. Though the King had a child of
his own, he decided to crown Manikandan as heir apparent. The Diwan who was jealous of
this tried to poison Manikandan to death but failed. He then came up with a wily plot. He
secretly spoke to the Queen and induced in her the wicked thought that while her own son
was there, Manikandan should not be crowned. The Queen fell for this smooth talk and
decided that she would do anything to see her own son crowned.
As instructed by the Diwan, she feigned a severe headache. The physician who attended on
the queen had been bribed by the Diwan and he lied that this illness could be cured only
by drinking Tiger's milk. King Rajasekara was greatly worried by this. Realising that it
would be no human task to obtain Tiger's milk, he promised to give half his kingdom to any
one who could get it. Many valiant men in the kingdom went into the forest in search of
Tiger's milk but all of them came back. All of them had only one thing to say: " We
saw a tiger but we couldn't get tiger's milk"
The King was very sad about the plight of his Queen. It was at this time that Manikandan
came forward and consoled his father. He asked the King not to worry while he was there
and promised to go and get the Tiger's milk needed to cure his ailing mother. The King
objected saying that Manikandan was too young for such a venture but Manikandan convinced
his father that he had to go in order to save his mother's life and the King finally
accepted though half-heartedly.
Manikandan bravely set out into the forest, guarded by the five elements of nature that
Lord Shiva had commanded to go with him. Meanwhile, Mahishi, who was enraged by the Devas
deceiving the Asuras and claiming the Amrit, attacked the heavens and wreaked havoc.
Manikandan who saw this, immediately went to the Devas' rescue and threw her down to the
earth. She fell on the banks of the river where a severe battle ensued between them.
Manikandan slayed Mahishi and completed the purpose of his incarnation. His divine duty
fulfilled, he continued on his hunt for Tiger's milk.
The Devas who were grateful to Manikandan for saving them paid him their obeissance. Lord
Shiva appeared before Manikandan and greeted him on his brave feat. He further said that
Indra, the king of the Devas would take the form of a male tiger and the other Devas of
female tigers and would go with him to the palace. Manikandan perched gallantly on the
male tiger rode back into the city like a hero. The people on seeing the ferocious tigers
ran helter skelter.
As soon as the King saw this amazing sight, he realised that Manikandan was no ordinary
child. It also struck him that it was the day when Manikandan completed twelve years of
age and that the truth about his identity would be revealed to him that day. He rushed out
to submit in obeissance when Manikandan, on seeing his father respectfully alighted from
his perch and said that he had brought the tigers and that his father quickly arrange to
milk them and send them back.
The King bowed respectfully to Manikandan and fell at his feet in regret. He addressed
Manikandan as "Oh Lord" and begged his forgivance for what had happened. He
explained that only after Manikandan had gone into the forest did he come to know of the
wicked plot his Diwan had weaved, and requested the Lord to send the Tigers away.
Manikandan said that there was nothing to forgive and also said that everything had gone
according to his wish. He said that his duty on earth was over and that he had to return
to heaven. On this, the King said that he wished to build a temple for the Lord in
remembrance of his stay on earth and asked him to identify the spot where the temple
should be built. Manikandan shot an arrow from his bow and asked the King to build the
temple at the spot where the arrow landed. He also said that the temple should have 18
steps leading to the main shrine which would face the East, and there would be a separate
shrine for Maligaipurathu Amman, the Godess Shakthi. He then departed from earth and went
back to heaven.
Following the instructions of Manikandan and under the guidance of sage Agastya, King
Rajasekara built the temple under his own supervision spending sleepless hours. That is
the temple that today stands in Sabari Malai where millions of devotees, irrespective of
caste, creed and religion, throng to seek the blessings of Lord Iyyappa. They go through
41 days of severe austerities and tread the rugged path of the hills bearing the sacred
twin baggae (Irumudi Kattu) to reach this one destination: the lotus feet of the Lord. And
guided by a single force:
Swamiye Saranam Iyyappa.
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