Ayyappa

Ayyappa, also called Manikandan and Dharmashasta, is the deity of the Sabarimala hill shrine in Kerala, honoured as the son of Shiva and the enchantress form of Vishnu, Mohini. He is shown seated in a yogic posture with a bell around his neck, in a bond of Shaiva and Vaishnava traditions. Devotees follow a forty-one day vow of austerity, wear black or blue and carry an irumudi bundle. In Odisha, Ayyappa shrines run by Malayali and Odia devotees host the mandala season rites and Makara Sankranti observances.

According to the Kerala tradition, as told in the Bhutanatha Upakhyana and local tales, the demoness Mahishi won a boon that only a son of Shiva and Vishnu could kill her. When Vishnu took the form of Mohini during the churning of the ocean, Shiva was drawn to her, and Ayyappa was born. The infant...