ARYANKAVU SASTHA TEMPLE

ARYANKAVU SASTHA TEMPLE

Dear friends,

Many times I had been to Aryankavu Sastha temple. I recollect my first trip; I reached Tenkasi from Chennai at midnight. My brother had came along with  my  mother and a group of people from our village to Tenkasi a little earlier. We together visited the temple in the early morning.

In one of the later trips my few staff from Krishnagiri joined me for pilgrimage to Sabarimalai, Aryankavu and Kulathupuzha temples . They were interested to see Sastha incarnation with Devi. Hope the reading of this compilation from different websites will give informative and interesting reading about the temple.

Sincerely,

Gopala Krishnan 8-7-2020

1 Introduction

Aryankavu Sastha Temple a Hindu temple and one of the 108 Sastha shrines in the Indian state of Kerala. The idol here is believed to be consecrated by sage Parashurama. It is also one of the Pancha Sastha temples in Kerala.

2 Legend

In the past the Sourashtrians sold silk clothes to the Travancore kings. One such vendor started his journey to offer silk clothes to Travancore king.  His wife and marriageable daughter accompanied him . On his way he reached Aryankavu by night since the daughter  walked very slowly. So he had to spend overnight  with temple priest's family.

The next morning he prepared to resume the journey but his daughter said she would remain there worshipping the deity until he returned. The priest pleasingly agreed to it.  The vendor swayed by his little girl's piety towards Lord Sastha, left her with the priest in that temple. Wife too stayed with the girl.

After finishing his business in Travancore Royal family, he returned to Aryankavu.. As he was nearing through the forest Aryankavu, an elephant with one tusk charged at him. He cried 'Oh Lord Dharma Sastha- rescue me'.

Then a handsome youngster appeared and commanded  the elephant to go away. Then it obeyed the command.  The vendor was very much impressed by the young man and told him," You have saved my life and my family like a divine being". As a token of gratitude, the silk vendor gave a costly silk fabric to the saviour. The saviour wearing the fabric around his neck asked the vendor "How do I look like?" The vendor answered "You look like a handsome bridegroom".

On hearing this the saviour asked him, "will you marry your daughter to me.?" Then the vendor said "by all means" You rescued me . if you wish so, I shall marry her  to you".

The young man said that he would meet the vendor at the Aryankavu temple and vanished. The vendor wondered how stranger  knew that he had a  marriageable daughter and why he reached Aryankavu temple.

In the meantime the temple's priest had a dream in which Lord Sastha manisfested Himself and said "a Sourashtra vendor  is waiting  at the gateway of the temple. As agreed by him I  married  his daughter  Pushkaladevi who was under your care and she is in an idol form on to my left inside temple. Henceforth I will manifest  with Pushkaladevi. Consistently I need the vendor  and his group to come here and observe this day as our wedding day.

 After that the priest woke up from his dream and went to the temple. There he saw the vendor. As he opened the temple gateway he found all lamps lit and a little statue of Pushkaladevi  close to the Lord,  in a wedded stance. The silk fabric given by the vendor to the saviour was found around the neck of sastha. On observing that the vendor realized that it was this god who rescued him. His daughter could not be seen anywhere.

Simultaneously the king of Travancore had a dream about the  incidents and Lord asking him to treat the Sourashtra vendor and his group as his Affines and approach him seeking alliance for  the Lord. The king hurried to Aryankavu and found his dream true. He royally treated the vendor. He even wanted the vendor to visit his kin consistently and glorify this celebration.

The lord desired that there ought to be an 'Eleven days splendid celebration' consistently and the traditions of the Sourashtra must be followed for the wedding. So thenceforth and till date, each year the Government of Kerala's representatives   come here as Lord's relatives and the Sourashtra individuals as the sambanthi[affine]to the master, to celebrate. On this occasion and all around Portrait of the last lord of Travancore, Bala Rama Varma is kept.

3 Temple

The pratishta[ idol] here is quite different from that of Achankovil, Kulthupuzha and Sabarimala temples. Sastha is depicted as a young man mounted on an elephant with right leg hanging and left leg being in a folded position, along with his consort Prabha/Pushkala on the left side and Lord Shiva on the right.

 As in Sabarimala, the temple too has 18 steps. The temple built in the traditional architectural styles of both Kerala and Tamil Nadu preserves several murals of Hindu deities.

Another feature of the temple is that it has been built 35 feet below the road level. The Poojas and rituals conducted in the temple are very much similar to the Tamil traditions as it is located near the border of two states.

The name 'Aryankavu' is believed to be originated from the words "Aryan" which generally denotes the deity Sastha and 'Kavu' being the place where he is worshipped. The deity here is also known as Tiru Aryan.

The Aryankavu Ayyan, also known as "Tiruaryan," is venerated as the adolescent form of Sastha. The temple is situated on the banks of the Rajakoop stream, another tributary of the Kallada. The majority of the pilgrims are from Tamil Nadu, most of them from the Saurashtra Brahmin community.

5 Deities in the sanctum

The sanctum sanctorum of the temple has idols of Devi, Shiva and Sastha. A young Sastha sits in the middle with Devi on the left side and Shiva on the right side.

6 Subordinate deities

The temple has separate shrines for Valiyakadutha, Karuppaswami and Karuppayiamma below the holy steps.

7 Festivals

Mandala pooja (Dhanu), Trikalyanam, Pandiyamudippu, Kumbhabhishekam

The temple has two main annual festivals mainly the Mandalapooja and Trikkalyanam (10th Dhanu).] The other noted festivals of the temple are Painguni and Kumbhabhishekam. The festival at the temple is celebrated during the concluding days of the Sabarimala Mandala Kalam. Pandiyan Mudippu and Trikalyanam are main attraction of the temple

The Thirukalyyanam (Sacred marriage of Lord) is the most special event of the all eleven day festival. It is conducted on the 10th day (10th Dhanu). The deities are brought together for the wedding but the wedding never takes place. The wedding is always postponed. The Lord ever remains a bridegroom. This event having many special features is conducted naturally by Brahmana Sangam of Madurai and Travancore Devaswom Board.

 It is a common belief that young girls will get married within a year by worshiping the idol. The other noted festivals of the temple are Painguni and Kumbhabhishekam.

7.1 Tirukalyanam

This is the only Sastha temple where a ritualistic ceremony known as "Thiru- kalyanam" for the wedding of Sastha takes place during the Sabarimala pilgrimage. A ritual depicting the betrothal, or "Pandiyan Mudippu" ceremony, is held. By tradition, the wedding ceremony gets aborted.

The temple has an exclusive Kalyana Mandapam for the ceremony and its walls are decorated with erotic sculptures on the model of those in the Khajuraho temple. The rituals inside the temple follow Kerala tradition and those outside follow Tamil Nadu customs. Here, most devotees venerate Ayyan as the son of the Pandiya King of Madurai.

8 Restrictions

Women from the age 10 to 50 are not permitted inside the Aryankavu Sastha Temple.

9 Contact details:

Sree Dharma Sastha Temple, Aryankavu, Kollam District, Kerala, India, Pin Code: 691309. Phone: +91 475 2211566