Sabarimala Pilgrimage – Who is stationed at Erumeli? (Vapura and Vavar)

Erumeli is an important central point of the Sabarimala pilgrimage; a place where Ayyappa devotees from all over the world converge. This is where begins the most important part of the pilgrimage – the long route to Sabarimala; in other words, Bhagawan’s Poongavanam – the divine garden of the Lord (forest) starts from Erumeli.

Many of the Ayyappa devotees are always in a dilemma about going to the Vavar Mosque situated here. I have already clarified about this in my book “Sri Mahasastha Vijayam”. However, I thought a little more detailed post would create more clarity on the subject.

Erumeli is a place associated with the Puranic episode of Lord Manikanta. Lord Sastha is installed at Erumeli posing as a Hunter – Vetta Shastha. The Puranic name for this place is mahishi mArikA vana. Mahishi(Demoness She Buffollo) Maarika (getting killed) Vana (forest). This became Eruma Kolli (in Malayalam) and now Erumeli.

The worship of Ayyappa devotees at the Vavar mosque here cannot be traced back to a very long time. It is a fabricated story and with vested interests, they are making it mandatory for any Ayyappa devotee to visit this Mosque before continuing the pilgrimage.

The Puranic episode of Advent of Lord Dharma Shastha as Manikanta dates back thousands and thousands of years. To be precise: it belongs to the Dvaparayuga. But Islam, as a religion has not even completed 1500 years.

Vavar, an Islamic pirate, finds a mention during the rebuilding of Sabarimala by a Pandalam Prince. The timeline period of this episode is very late. It is during the era of Pandalam Prince Arya Kerala Varman. And it is during the times of this prince that the episode of the Muslim Vavar came into being. Conveniently, certain elements merged the Puranic episodes with the historical ones and gave rise to a lot of false beliefs. Now it has gone to an extent that people not only visit the mosque but get Bhasma – Vibhuti (holy ash) Prasada from the mosque. On the contrary, the texts prescribe that it is a great sin to accept Vibhuti from a person who doesn’t adorn Vibhuti.

Bhutanatha Upakhyana, a book which is a part of Brahmanda Purana, explains the leelas of Manikanta, the incarnation of Shastha, and explains the Mahishi Samhara and the final installation of the Lord at Sabarimala temple. This is the most prominent among the ancient texts, where one can learn about the rituals, practices, and guidance for the Sabarimala pilgrimage.

There is no mention of such a mosque in any of the ancient texts describing the Sabarimala pilgrimage (rather it is not possible because Puranas were composed even before the advent of Islam as a religion). There are important places to worship during the Sabarimala pilgrimage. Many age-old devotees followed this sincerely and worshipped this way. Throughout the long route, there are several holy sports guarded by the Guardian deities. It is customary practice to offer worship to the respective deity at the appropriate locations.

The long route to Sabari has seven such quarters and they are called Kotta-forts. When counting seven forts like that, Erumeli the first fort is named as Vapura Koshtam (fort of Vapura)

I.e.,

1. Vapura is the guardian deity for the first fort Erumeli (mahishi mArikA vana)
2. Nandikeswara for the second fort
3. Bhoothanatha at Udumpara, Third Fort
4. Bhagavathi on the fourth fort, Karimala
5. Sabari Durga in the Fifth Fort, Neelimala
6. Astra Bhairava in the Sixth Fort , Sharam Kuthi
7. Seventh Fort, near the holy eighteen steps, is guarded by Karuppaswamy.

punarAhuya taM prAha vApuraM maNikandhara:
ihaiva goShThamekantu bhUtavRRindaishcha satvaraM

Lord Manikanta instructed Vapura to form a station and dwell at Erumeli and protect the devotees.

– Boothanatha Upakhyana Chap 6 Sloka 93 6.93

It is an ancient custom to perform a pooja at all these forts before proceeding further. Today this custom is obsolete. Many people have developed a strange quality of stopping only at Pampa if they start running in Erumeli! Very few traditional groups like our Coimbatore Maha Sasthru Viri, Boothapandi Viri, and few more groups from Tirunelveli and Trivandrum districts still follow this ancient custom today. Most of these guardian deities have no distinct temple or structure as such. (The temples we see today at Kalaketti and Udumpara are very recent ones) These deities have their presence at a specific spot in their respective forts. It may be a tree or a stone or just a rock. It is customary to find it and worship at that place, invoking the deity on a stone or a lamp. Thus, in the first fort called Erumeli, the guardian deity, Vapura is to be worshipped.

All these details are narrated in a text called Sasthru Puja Kalpa Manjari. The text clearly places the devatas to be worshipped at Sabarimala Pilgrimage – including the placement of Vapura as a guardian deity.

gaNe’sham nairrute vAyau ma~nchAmpAm cha prapUjayet
bairavau dvasitA~Nka~ncha pUrve vAme cha vApuram  

– Sasthru Puja Kalpa Manjari Chap 7 Sloka 23

Similarly, the Sabarimala Purana – Bhutanatopakhyana never says that Manikanta had an Islamic friend named Vavar. On the contrary it says,

vApura kaTushabdashcha vIrabhadroti vIryavAn
kUpanetro kUpakarNAe ghaNThAkarNAe mahAbali |
ityAtayashcha bhUtAste vakShAtItAshcha tai sa:
prApya pampAtaTaM shIghraM bhUtAnAM patiravyaya: ||

Vapura and seven other Bhoothaganas, came to the earth to assist Lord Bhutsha
(Manikanta) and accompanied him to the river Pampa.

– Boothanatha Upakhyana Chap 5 Sloka 135

This Vapura is nowhere mentioned as a friend. He is clearly stated as Manikanta’s servant. Few people dispute the date of Bhoothanatha Upakhyana and bring it down to the 15th – 16th Century. Although there are questions about the date of the text, even then it is a fact that there is no mention of an Islamic comrade named Vavar.

Sri Baladandayuthapani Swami, who wrote a wonderful book titled Dharmasastru Pooja Kalpam, has also very clearly refuted this view of going to a Mosque and affirmed that only the Sivabhutha named Vapura can be worshipped and there is no place for a Mohammedan in a temple pilgrimage.

There is a long gap between the Puranic era and the historical era. Sabarigiri Temple was built after the annihilation of a mythical monster named Mahishi by Lord Manikanta. Ancient texts, songs, slokas, and rituals are very clear about what should be done and what should not be done. The mistake what we see today may be due to the people who carried the episodes to the next generation in an improper way or maybe a well-planned fabrication with an agenda.

Kerala is the land of Parasurama – the place where many of the Ramayana events took place; when the Sabarigiri temple is said to be one of the shrines installed by Parasurama, one has to examine the time and purpose of its occurrence. We must think twice and consider whether it is right to accept the traditions that have entered as later corruptions – which are contradicting the Dharmic rituals and Puranic practices.

The devotees, who make the pilgrimage after undergoing strict austerities, fasting with so much hardship, should continue their worship without deviating from the procedure or committing any mistake out of ignorance. If the devotees, who are very strictly following their rituals on Sabarimala pilgrimage, continue their yatra without these unwanted deviations – it is beyond doubt that the divine grace will shower like rain.