The season is filled with calls by devotees that seem to repeatedly echo the submission of the seeker to supreme. All paths lead to the abode of Swamy and the resolve to visit him is enough to brave the bitter cold and the toughest of terrain that each devotee has to endure. For the devotee, the means and end is Lord Ayyappa, the redeemer of ignorance.
The path to Ayyappan, strewn with rough stones and thorns, winds through thick forests and tricky ridges. The aim is to reach the sanctum sanctorum of the Swamy and nothing else. The austerities are all focussed on renouncing the causes of pain. Each devotee carries a bundle on his/her head, which is full of oblations to the lord and signifies renunciation and sacrifice.
The first stop for the devotee is Erumely where the lord manifests as an archer, the form that is believed to have ended the life of Mahishi, a demoness. Mahishi is believed to have taken the form of a buffalo to spread terror in the land and Ayyappa is believed to have killed her.
Here one can see 'Rudirakulam,' the pool in which Mahishi breathed her last. The house in which Ayyappaa spent the night may also be seen here. Recently, when the house caught fire, the place where Ayyappa's sword was kept escaped the inferno.
Pettathullal, a kind of ritualistic dance, is performed at Erumely by devotees. While it was restricted to the month of Dhanu earlier, it is common now even during the time of monthly poojas. It is now a common sight to see devotees moving about in ritualistic attire to perform.
It is here that one proceeds to visit the mosque of Vavar and offer obeisance after praying at a small Ayyappa temple. When one moves to the Sabarimala temple from the mosque, the ritual ends the divide between religions. After pettathullal, one needs to keep an arrow in custody so as to signify that one is part of the army of Ayyappa.
The route, after crossing Kottapadi moves into Perurthodu, where devotees take a dip in a rivulet. It is believed that Lord Siva tied his bull to a tree at 'Kaalaketti' after visiting Ayyappa following the murder of Mahishi. At Kaalaketti, one visits a temple and then crosses the Azhutha river. From here one slowly progresses to the famed Karimala, which used to be the fort of a well-known jungle thief, Udayanan. Crossing Karimala, one meets the holy river Pampa where obeisance is paid to departed souls in the family. Here one makes it a point to visit Pampa Ganapathi, who is believed to remove all obstacles on the way. Crossing Neelimala and Appachimedu, one thereafter reaches the abode of the Swamy. On the way, the arrows that were brought from Erumeli are deposited at Sharamkuthi.
Steeped in devotion and accompanied by loud chants that praise the lord, thousands climb the 18 steps that are symbolic of the prescribed spiritual steps on the path to salvation and subsequent moksha- redemption from the cycles of life. There one sees Ayyappa, the embodiment of supreme consciousness, above the myriad pulls and complexities of the forests, which symbolises the mind.
Ruling over and served by 'Bhutas' and 'Ganas,' the embodiments of materialism, the lord who is free from all afflictions and who is pure in content manifests with the 'Abhaya Mudra,' a promise that all seeking him- the truth- shall attain peace and tranquillity. Then, when you mix as a drop in that ocean of spirituality, forgetting your existence and your ego and all your past, present and future; your only presence in this world becomes the three mere words- 'Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa.'
