Ayyanar, Sastha or Saththan is a Hindu deity particularly praised in South India and Sri Lanka. His worship is prevalent among Malayalis, Tamils, kannadigas. His most famous shrine is at the hillock of Sabarimala where he is present in his Brahmacharya form as Ayyappa Some studies suggest that Ayyanar may have also been worshipped in South east Asian countries in the past. He is primarily worshiped as one of the guardian folk deities of Tamil Nadu. The village temples of Ayyanar are usually flanked by gigantic and colorful statues of him and his companions riding horses or elephants.
Etymology
The Tamil wordAyyanār is derived from the root wordAyyan, a honorific used in a Tamil language to designate Aryans. Some people propose that Aiyan could be the Tamilized version of Sanskrit root Arya which means the same. There is a well known temple dedicated to Sastha situated in a village of Kerala, called "Aryankavu". Another name of Ayyanar, Sastha, meets the same dispute. Although he appears as Sastha in Sanskrit scriptures, ancient Tamil records mention him as Chattan. Though Śāstā is the term especially used to indicate Ayyanar nowadays, there are two other deities known in the same name. Buddha is also called Sastha and Brahma-Śāstā is another name for Murugan. Sastha is a generic Sanskrit term for a teacher.
Development
There are very few pieces of evidence to reconstruct the origin and development of Ayyanar. Since Sastha is the synonym of Buddha, some researchers assume Chattan could have entered the Tamil country with Buddhism.. The earliest references to Ayyanar were discovered in the hero stones of hunting chieftains from Arcot, Tamil Nadu dated back to the 3rd century C.E. The phrase in the inscriptions which could be translated into "Ayyanappan; a shrine to Cattan" confirms that Ayyan and Chattan were the names of a single deity. A rock carving of a man and horse in the Isurumuniya Buddhist temple of Sri Lanka, is identified with Ayyanar. Sinhala buddhists of Sri Lanka praise him in the form of a folk deity called Ayyanayake to the date. sculpture often identified with Ayyanayake, Sri Lankan Ayyanar.|alt=|left
Iconography
The famous iconography of Aiyan shows him alone, carrying a Chentu in his right hand. Sometimes a whip, stick, sword or scepter can be seen in his hand. While he manifests in a squat position, A meditation band known as Yogapaţţam or Vāgupaţţai will present around his knees and waist. Pingalantai Nighantu, Kanda Puranam and Chola bronzes describe his mount as a white elephant. The horse is another mount abundantly seen in his local temples. Some texts have mentioned the blue horse and bull as his mount as well. After the popularity of the Ayyappan cult, the tiger is also identified as the mount of Sastha. According to Cūṭāmaṇi Nighaṇṭu, Sastha wears black garments and reddish garlands. His body is smeared with yellow paste and he carries a sword in his hand. In Kārana Agama, he sits on a throne with his right leg folded while his left leg is hanging down. He is usually depicted having blue or black complexion. Although his two armed form is common, some texts describe his forms with four or eight arms. Amsumadbheda Agama describes his four arms carrying Abhaya, Varada, sword and shield. In Ishana Siva Guru Paddhati, he is visualized as carrying an arrow, bow, knife and sword. Other records on Ayyanar tell that he is accompanied by his two wives popularly known as Purana and Pushkala. Purna is dark complexioned and carries Varamudra in her right hand and blue lotus in the left. Pushkala is yellow complexioned and holds a noose in her right hand. Shilparatna describes him with only one wife called Prabha and their eight years old lad known as Satyakan Folklore regards Aiyan as the guardian of the villages, riding on either an elephant or horse. He carries a bow and arrow to save his devotees. Pavadairayan, Karuppasamy and Madurai Veeran are his attendants. Aiyanar images installed in villages are usually gigantic and they are identical with the Bhuta like iconography of Sastha given in Subrabheda Agama. In rural areas, Aiyanar is often represented with an escort, usually composed of the god's vassals, sometimes comprising demons. Consistent with this practice, terracotta horses are usually placed outside the temple. These are given up to the god as steeds for his night time perambulations.
Connections with Ayyappan
A deity named "Ayyappan" is not recorded in any early Tamil/Sanskrit sources though the name Ayyappan appears as synonymous with Sastha in Tiruvalla copper plates of the 12th century CE and Kanyakumari Guhanathaswami Kovil Inscription.. Neither Ayyappa nor Sabarimala is known as a pilgrim spot in the Tamil region before the 1940s. According to researchers Eliza Kent, Ruth Vanita and Saleem Kidwai, the legends in the Ayyappa tradition seem to be "artificially mixed and assembled into a kind of collage" and "he should have emerged from a Dravidian god of tribal provenance". There is a lot evidence to prove that the above mentioned Dravidian tribal god is none other than Ayyanar. Sabarimala Sthala Puranam, a recent purana explains that Ayyappan is the avatar of Ayyanar. Even the name Ayyappan reveals that it is the combination of Ayyan + Appan. Yogapatta bar around the knees of Ayyappan is the distinct character that can be seen in the Ayyanar statues of the Chola period. The horse mount of Aiyanar is still visible in the flag staff of Sabarimala Ayyappan temple. The synonym Sastha of Ayyappan is obviously the same as that of Ayyanar. Another important association is the presence of Karuppa samy in the worship of both deities. Legend suggests that the image of Sabarimala Ayyappan was consecrated by Parashurama. However the Sanskrit inscription in the image says that it was installed in Kollam Era 1085 by Prabhakaracharya. Tamil devotees did not discriminate Ayyappan with Ayyanar and they believe that Ayyappan is the avatar of Ayyanar. It can be noted that Sri Lankan Ayyanar temples are being converted into Ayyappan temples following the outbreak of Sabarimala pilgrimage of Sri Lankan devotees in recent years.
Worship
Many temples are dedicated to Ayyanar can be seen all over South India as well as Sri Lanka. Almost all villages of Tamil Nadu would have an Aiyanar kovil. Ayyanar shrines are usually located at the peripheries or boundaries of rural villages and the deity is seen riding a horse with a sword or whip. Ayyanar has both types of temples - temples constructed in Agamic style and non-Agamic open air shrines. Ayyanar in Agamic temple is usually called Sastha or Dharma sastha. Kerala retains its Ayyanar temples as Sastha temples. The attendant priest for Aiyanar is generally from the potter caste who fashions idols and clay horses, although it is not uncommon for priests from other castes to officiate in the Ayyanar temples. Many castes of Tamil Nadu worship Ayyanar as their Kula deivam.
