Following the Pulmedu incident in which 102 Sabarimala pilgrims died on January 14, the controversy over makarajyothi and makaravilakku has been naturally rekindled.
Some describe a star that appears on the eastern horizon, roughly coinciding with the arrival of the thiruvabharanam from Pandalam Palace to adorn the Ayyappa deity at Sabarimala and the subsequent deeparadhana, as makarajyothi. Some others consider a light, far away within the eastern forests around the same time and appearing three times, makarajyothi. For still others, makarajyothi is the sum total of the star and the light.
While the star in consideration can be called makarajyothi by reason of the care being bestowed on it on the 1st of makaram at the Sannidhanam, it shall be specially noted that the term makarajyothi is in use only for less than about 40 years in the 1000-year history and legends of the Sabarimala temple. This, by itself, may be one reason for the controversy.
Greater opposition to this lies in the act of misleading the devotees by pouring extra divinity of a heavenly lamp into the flickering light while the government, the Travancore Devaswom Board and other vested interests keep mum, without openly declaring and publicising that the lamp is man-made. This is exploiting the belief of the devotees, that the devas perform deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu to coincide with the deeparadhana of Lord Ayyappa, adorning the Holy Ornaments.
Whether a light appeared or not, the pilgrims present at the Sannidhanam paid their obeisance, turning to that direction. Until the present set-up came into place, there was no regularity of any sort in the appearance of the lamp and, on most occasions, there used to be no light at all. This light appearing some times was a sort of deeparadhana, conducted by some group of forest dwellers. Upon the belief of a deeparadhana and/or upon the sight of a light, if the devotees chant the names of Ayyappa, I do not find anything wrong. The controversy is in the matter of misleading people. Now that the tribals have been thrown out of their dwellings and the exhibition of the light has been taken over by vested authorities who ensure its quality, number of appearances and TV transmission, the sanctity of the show is lost.
The Pandalam Palace does not give importance to makarajyothi, coined recently to serve vested interests. For his own reasons, the Tantri refers to the star as makarajyothi. There can even be a hidden agenda to decrease the importance and sanctity of the deeparadhana of Lord Ayyappa, with the Holy Ornaments brought from Pandalam.
The term makaravilakku is ancient. But it does not carry its original meaning now. It is unfortunate that even the Tantri has not cared to find out the truth in the controversy. Actually, by makaravilakku is meant the festival on the day of makarasamkramam including the procession from Malikappuram to Pathinettampadi, with caparisoned elephant and other paraphernalia. Note that in many temples in Kerala, the festival days are known as vilakku. The festival in Sabarimala used to begin after makarasamkramam with flag-hoisting, and end on the sixth with guruthi. All the paraphernalia for the ceremony are brought from Pandalam. In olden days, devotees invariably stayed back to witness at least a day's festival. An unwanted turn in the Sabarimala festival is that the TDB is changing the days of the festival to its will and convenience in the name of devaprasnam or without it. While facts stand thus, regularising, strengthening and publicising the once-in-many-years visible light and elevating the same as makaravilakku, ignoring the original makaravilakku, can be part of the hidden agenda. Under the pressure of the controversies, if any changes are suggested, they shall not worsen the present position and shall avoid all chances of hidden agenda and misleading of the people. The history of TDB proves its incapacity to deal with the situation.
P.R.V. Raja,President, Pandalam Palace Managing Committee, Pandalam, Kerala
While makarajyothi is a shining star, makaravilakku is a bright light seen on the makaravilakku day at Ponnambalamedu. Now, people believe that both are the same. Ensuring makaravilakku is not the job of the authorities. If they are really concerned about the welfare of the devotees, they should build pilgrim shelters across the State, providing basic amenities at nominal charges.
T.K. Harinarayanan,Kozhikode
It is absolutely important to make a distinction between makarajyothi and makaravilakku. It is time the facts were brought out as the number of pilgrims to Sabarimala is increasing year after year.
R.K. Kutty,Bhopal
That the Kerala High Court has asked the TDB to clarify whether or not the makarajyothi is a man-made phenomenon is surprising. The celestial light is based on faith and is being honoured by Ayyappa devotees for ages. The light has nothing to do with legal issues. No one moved the court on the origin of the jyothi. The deaths caused due to the stampede had nothing to do with the origin of the jyothi. It was an accident caused by the negligence of a jeep driver.
J.P. Reddy,Nalgonda
Any enquiry into the makarajyothi will stir people's emotions. Let them believe what they see — it is a matter of faith. In my humble opinion, the best thing to do is to improve crowd management.
V. Sujith,New Delhi
