By pankaj at 1:40 am, Aug 01, 2009

Sabarimala and Buddhism

The following has been taken from several Web sites. Please let me know
your opinions.

It's the Iyyappa season again. Millions of Iyyappa devotees converge at

Sabarimala in Kerala. The Sabarimala pilgrimage has seen a sudden spurt over
the last couple of decades.
The pilgrimage to Sabarimala is different from pilgrimages to other major centres
in Hinduism. It requires the devotee to observe severe austerities for 41 days.
The devotee must "keep away from all social activities and spend his time
praying and singing bhajans" and "must eat only vegetarian food and abstain
from meat, physical or verbal violence, alcohol and tobacco and intoxicants in
any form. The devotee must sleep on the floor, use a wooden block for a pillow
and walk barefeet."
Such austerities are not required for other pilgrimages. And it is this difference
that makes the pilgrimage and Iyyappa interesting.
The austerities followed by the Iyyappa devotees are similar to the vows, known
as ashta-shilas, taken by Buddhists.
The Iyyappa temple in Sabarimala was built by a Pandalam king. The Pandalam
dynsasty is an offshoot of the Pandya dynasty of Tamil Nadu. And the Pandalam
king who built the Iyyappa temple was not a Hindu. He was a Buddhist.
And naturally, the 'temple' he built was in fact, a Buddhist monastery. The temple
is supposed to be the place where a great Jain or Buddhist monk attained
Nirvana.
Whoever created the myth of Iyyappa as a Hindu God who is the son of Vishnu
(Mohini avataar) and Shiva has also brought in a Muslim saint called Vaavar. All
Iyyappa devotees go first to Vaavar's mosque at Erumely and then proceed to
the temple. They never bother to think how Iyyappa who is supposed to be the
son of Shiva and Vishnu, could have possibly met got help from a Muslim who
lived just a few hundred years ago.
The pilgrims' chant of 'Swamiye Saranam Iyyappa' is similar to the Buddhist
chant of 'Buddham Saranam Gachhaami'. In no other Hindu temple is the word
'Saranam' used in a chant.
The Makara Jyoti which appears mysteriously in the Sabarimala forests on the
Makara Sankranti day gave it the name Potalaka. The surprise: The Dalai Lama's
palace in Lhasa is called - Potala!
Hsuen Tsang refers to Avalokitesvara* on the Potala in the following words,
summarised by Waters (1905): "In the south of the country near the sea was the
Mo-lo-ya (Malaya) mountain, with its lofty cliffs and ridges and deep valleys and
gullies, on which were sandal, camphor and other trees. To the east of this was
Pu-ta-lo-ka (Potalaka) mountain with steep narrow paths over its cliffs and
gorges in irregular confusion..."
The posture of Iyyappa is unique. He is the only God in the Hindu Pantheon who
is in a sitting position. Almost all images of Buddha are in sitting position. Some
Iyyappa temples in Kerala have the idols of Iyyappa almost alike the Buddha idol.
Iyyappa is also known as Dharma Sasta. As is well known that word 'Dharma' is
deeply rooted in Buddhist literature. Eg. 'Sadhamma' means Teachings of The
Buddha. Sasta is a well known epithet applied to The Buddha. Even today The
Buddha is referred to as Sasta in the daily prayer of Buddhists, e.g. 'Sattha dev
manussanam'. The Amarkosha mentions Sastha as one of the names of Buddha.
Unlike in other temples, caste barriers are weak in this temple, which is a
common feature of all those shrines which were previously of Buddhist faith. This
became necessary for the Brahmins to concede to, so that masses could be
wooed away from Buddhism.
This must be viewed in the light of the fact that Brahmins, led by Adi Shankara,
were on warpath against Buddhism. After driving away the Buddhists, they took
over the Buddhist monastaries and converted them into temples. There are
stories of Adi Shankara and other saints 'winning' in debates with Buddhists.
Though Buddhism disappeared from the South, it integrated into the southern
culture. Buddha had become reincarnation of Vishnu. Some sects have replaced
Balarama or Parasurama with The Buddha in the ten incarnations of Vishnu. The
worship of Sathanar, Ayyanar, Dharma Raja and Bodhi Raj are old Buddha
worship. (Notice the words Dharma, Satha, Bodhi etc)
Iyyappa has the vajradanda, a crooked stick in his right arm. The vajra is a
characteristic weapon of Bodhisattva.

*Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion, is one of the most important and

popular Buddhist dieties. Although he originally was conceived of in a Mahayana
context, he has been worshipped under different names and in different shapes
in nearly every form of Buddhism in every country Buddhism has entered.
Avalokitesvara first appears in Indian Buddhism. He is originally mentioned as
one of a number of bodhisattvas. These bodhisattvas are personifications of
various attributes of the Buddha.