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The temple is situated on a hilltop amidst eighteen hills at an altitude of 480 m (1,574 ft) above sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. The dense forest, part of the Periyar Tiger Reserve, around the temple is known as Poongavanam. Temples exist in each of the hills surrounding Sabarimala.
Well the temple was rebuilt after arson and vandalism in 1950. The Earlier Stone images of the Deity was replaced by panchaloha idol, it’s named such because the material used in this is an alloy of five metals. The temple’s sanctum sanctorum (highly restricted place) gold-plated roof and four golden finials at the top and the Dhwajam (Flag Staff) was installed in 1969. There is a Ganapati temple, known as Kannimoola Ganapathi prathishta, which is situated to them south-west to The Sreekovil of the Sannidhanam. Devotees generally offer the broken coconut to the fireplace as the main offering to Ganapathi Homam.
The Pathinettu thripadikal or the 18 sacred steps is the main stairway to the temple. As per the custom followed, no pilgrim without "Irumudikkettu" can ascend the 18 sacred steps. In 1985, the 18 steps were covered by Panchaloha. The northern gate is open for those who do not carry an "Irumudikkettu", as observed in the Kerala High Court judgment of 1991.
The term “Iru” means two and “mudi” means a knot or a small bundle. Irumudi is the most important component of pilgrimage to Sabarimala. The Irumudi is prepared under surveillance of Guru Swami and preparing Irumudi is known as kettu nirakkal or palli kettu. The Irumudi kettu is carried by devotees, who have observed 41 days vritham. Irumudi Kettu is essential to step the 18 sacred steps that lead to the shrine of Lord Ayyappa. Devotees without Irumudi Kettu are not allowed to pass through the stairway to reach the shrine.
Irumudi kettu is a travel pouch carried by devotees of Sabarimala Pilgrims. Irumudi kettu is a small bag which has two compartments. The front compartment is called Munmudi and back compartment is called pinmudi. The front portion is for Lord Ayyappa and back compartment is for carrying personal goods of the Devotee.
The temples of Lord Ayyappan's trusted lieutenants Karuppu Sami and Kadutha Sami are positioned as his guards (kaval) at the foot of the holy 18 sacred steps.
The temple of Maalikapurathamma, whose importance is almost in par with Lord Ayyappa, is located few yards from Sannidhanam. It is believed that the Lord Ayyapan had specific instructions that he wanted Malikappurath Amma, on his left side. Prior to the fire disaster, there was only a Peeda Prathishta (holy seat) at Malikappuram. The idol of Malikappurath Amma was installed by Brahmasree Kandararu Maheswararu Thanthri. The Devi at Malikappuram holds a Sankh, Chakram and Varada Abhya Mudra. Now the idol is covered with a gold Golaka. The temple also was reconstructed in the last decade and now the conical roof and sopanam is covered with gold.
The Sabarimala temple complex include Pampa Ganapathi temple, Nilakal Mahadeva temple and Palliyara Bhagavathi temple. The Nilakal Mahadeva temple and Palliyara Bhagavathi temple is as old as the Sastha temple and the deities are worshiped as the parents of Lord Ayyappa. Ganapathi temple at Pampa has Pampa Maha Ganapathi and Athi Ganapathi, sreekovil where the idol from the first Ganapathy temple is worshiped. Sabari Peedam has a temple of Rama and Hanuman also.
The worship of Sastha forms part of the very ancient history of south India. At Sabarimala, the deity is worshiped as Ayyappan and as Dharmashasta. The shrine of Sabarimala is an ancient temple. It is believed that the prince of Pandalam dynasty, an avatar of Ayyappan, meditated at Sabarimala temple and became one with the divine. The place where the prince meditated is the Manimandapam.
There are many Sastha temples in South India and across the globe. As per the temple history, the Sastha temple at Sabarimala is one of the five Sastha temples founded by Lord Parasurama, an avatar of Lord Vishnu. The other Sastha temples in this group of five includes the Ayyappan Temples at Kulathupuzha, where the Sastha appears as a Balaka or child; at Aryankavu where the lord appears as a Brahmachari or young man; at Achankovil Shastha Temple, where the lord leads the Grihastha Ashrama life here and depicted along with his two wives – Purna and Pushkala at Sabarimala, where the lord is depicted in the Vanaprastha or form of renunciation; at Ponnambala Medu the lord appears as a yogi and where the "makaravilaku" is lit.
After the installation of the temple, it was mostly unreachable for about three centuries. In the 9th century, a prince of Pandalam Dynasty, called Manikandan, rediscovered the original path to reach Sabarimala. He had many followers with him, including the descendants of the Vavar (a Muslim warrior whom Manikandan defeated) family. This prince is considered an avatar of Ayyappa, and is believed to have led a pack of tigers to his palace with Vavar and then later disappeared to the Sabarimala temple. The temple was then renovated.
The devotees are expected to follow a Vratham (41-day austerity period) prior to the pilgrimage.This begins with wearing of a special Mala, a chain made of Rudraksha or Tulasi beads is commonly used for this purpose. During the 41 days of Vratham, the devotee who has taken the vow, is required to strictly follow the rules that include follow only a lacto-vegetarian diet, follow celibacy, follow teetotalism, not use any profanity and have to control the anger, allow the hair and nails to grow without cutting. They must try their maximum to help others, and see everything around them as lord Ayyappa. They are expected to bath twice in a day and visit the local temples regularly and only wear plain black or blue coloured traditional clothing.
Hundreds of devotees still follow the traditional mountainous forest path, which is approximately 61km. Now-a-days people use vehicles to reach the Pamba River by an alternate route. From Pamba, all the pilgrims begin trekking the steep mountain path of Neeli Mala till Sabari Mala. This route is now highly developed, with emergency shops and medical aid by the sides, and supporting aid is provided to the pilgrims while climbing the steep slope, which used to be a mere trail through dense jungle. The elderly pilgrims are lifted by men on bamboo chairs till the top, on being paid.
Myth Behind Women Entry Prohibition:
According to one of them, Ayyappan, the deity of Sabarimala Temple is celibate. When he defeated the evil demoness Mahushasuri, she turned into a beautiful young woman. She had actually been cursed to live the life of a demoness until the child born out of the union of Shiva and Vishnu defeated her in a battle. Ayyappan, being the abandoned son of Shiva and Mohini (an incarnation of Vishnu), could set her free after defeating her in the battle.
After the battle, the young woman proposed to Ayyappan for marriage, but he refused her saying that he had been ordained to go to the forest, live the life of a brahmachari and answer the prayers of devotees. However, the young woman was persistent, so Ayyappan promised to marry her the day kanni-swamis (new devotees) would stop visiting him at Sabarimala. Unfortunately for the woman, Sabarimala was visited by kanni-swamis every year, and she was not able to marry Ayyappan. The woman is worshiped as goddess Malikappurathamma at a neighbouring temple. As to respect his bramhacharya, women of menstruating age (from 10-50) are not allowed inside.
In 2006, six women, members of the Indian Young Lawyers' Association, petitioned the Supreme Court of India to lift the ban against women between the ages of 10 and 50 entering the Sabarimala temple. They argued that the practice was a violation of their constitutional rights and questioned the validity of provisions in the Kerala Hindu Places of Public Worship (Authorisation of Entry) Rules act of 1965 which supported it.
In September 2018, the court held that a centuries-old ban on women and girls aged 10 to 50 was illegal and given a decision over the petition to allow women of all age, but protesters thwarted most attempts by women to travel to the Sabarimala temple.
