Lord Ayyappa is the presiding deity of Sabarimala temple in Kerala, India. Lord Ayyappa (in Malayalam language pronounced as 'Ayyappan') is worshipped as a child at Kulathupuzha temple in Kerala and in Achan Kovil temple along with his consorts Pushkala and Poorna and in Sabarimala as an ascetic meditating for the well being of all mankind. The Lord is considered to be the reincarnation of Sree Dharma Sastha referred to in the ancient texts of Hinduism. In Lord Ayyappa, we visualize Lord Shiva (The Lord of Destruction) and Lord Vishnu (The Lord of Sustenance) in a unified form. The word Ayyappa is derived from two words Ayya meaning Vishnu and Appa meaning Shiva.
The worship of Lord Ayyappa enunciates the great Advaita principle of 'Tat Tvam Asi' meaning 'Thou art That or That is You'. It means you are part of the Universal Soul (Paramatma). It also means that for reaching the Paramatma or Universal Soul you search in yourself i.e the Jeevatma (Life soul present in you). It is because of this concept that in Sabarimala every devotee is addressed as Swami (Lord) or Ayyappan or Malikappuram and the temple is open to all irrespective of his or her religion, caste, creed or colour of the skin. One of the significant rituals performed in the Sabarimala temple is the 'Neyyabhishekam' or pouring of the sacred and pure ghee brought in the Irumudikettu (the double pouched cloth bag carried on the head by the pilgrims visiting Sabarimala) on the idol of Lord Ayyappa. It symbolically means the merging of Jeevatma and Paramatma.
In Hindu religion all great philosophical ideas are presented through mythological stories and in the case of Lord Ayyappa the mythology goes as follows. The asura princess Mahishi was burning up with anger at the dirty trick the Devas had played on her brother the asura king Mahisasura. Blessed with invulnerability to all men, the gods had sent a woman, the goddess Durga, to fight and kill him. Mahishi then performed a fearsome set of austerities, and so surpassed all records in that grim tapasya, that Brahma, The Creator had really no option but to give her a boon to rule the universe and to be invulnerable except to a being that had the combined strength of both Shiva and Vishnu. Since such a person did not exist, she thought she was safe and began the usual asura career of conquest and plunder. The Devas implored Shiva and Vishnu to save them from this catastrophe. When Vishnu had taken on the Kurma Avatar, he also had to manifest himself as Mohini, the enchantress, to save the nectar of immortality from the demons who were not willing to share it with the Devas. If he became Mohini again, then the female Mohini and the male Shiva could have the divine child who would combine their powers and beat Mahishi. And Sree Dharmasastha was born as the son of Mohini and Shiva.
According to the lore, there was a rich and pious Brahmin who was a great devotee of Sree Dharmasastha. The Lord was so pleased with the Bhakti (devotion) of the Brahmin that He blessed the Brahmin by granting his wish to be born as his son in his next birth when the Lord would offer him "moksha' or Salvation. The Brahmin was then born as a King of Pandalam, Raja Rajasekhara. The King while passing through the banks of Pampa River was attracted by the wails of a small infant and on reaching the spot found a very beautiful baby wearing a gemstone around his neck (Hence Ayyappa is also known as Manikantan). The King who was childless thought that the child has come to him as a blessing of God for his prayers for having a child. He then brought him up as his son.
As time passed by the King had another son and the Queen wanted her son to become the next King. However, the King regarded Manikantan as his eldest son and proceeded to crown him as Yuva Raja (the heir apparent). So to get rid of Manikantan, the Queen feigned illness and asked him to get her tiger's milk as a medicine. The dutiful Manikantan proceeds to the forest. There He performs His divine duty of killing the asura princess Mahishi and then rides back to the palace on a fierce tigress. The King and the Queen realizes the divine powers of Manikantan and seeks pardon for their mistakes. The King repented he could not fully visualize the truth of the divine powers of the Lord and repeatedly requested Him to forgive him for behaving as if He were his son only. The Lord lovingly embraced the King who prayed to bless him by freeing from ego and the worldly life of birth and rebirth and grant "moksha" (salvation).
Manikantan then enlightened the King on the path of attainment of moksha. The Lord shot an arrow that fell at the top of Sabarimala and told the King that he could construct a temple at Sabarimala, north of the holy river Pampa and install His deity there. The Lord also explained how the Sabarimala pilgrimage shall be undertaken, emphasizing the importance of vratham (austerities) and what the devotees can attain by His 'darshan'.
The Pandalam Raja constructed a small temple in Sabrimala, 18 steps above the ground. Each of these 18 holy steps represents a desire one must conquer in life. The figure of 18 has a great significance in Hindu philosophy. It also represents the 18 chapters in the Bhagavad Gita.
In Ayyappa temple, Rohini, the idol of Lord Ayyappa is in the Dhyana Mudra (in meditation) on the same pattern of the Sabarimala temple.