Narayan Ravi - Mumbai

Ayyappa

Kulathupuzha Sri Dharma Sastha temple.

Kulathupuzha is a small village in a reserved forest area in the Kollam district of Kerala. It is famous for its Sastha temple where the Lord is worshipped as a child & is hence called Bala Sastha. It is believed that the temple was originally constructed by Rajasekhara after Manikantha left for His divine abode, but the temple in its present form was constructed by a king from Kottarakara.

The legend says that a Brahmin from Kottarakara was on his way home from a pilgrimage to Rameshwaram with his servants when they stopped by the Kulathupuzha stream to cook their lunch. One of the servants tried making a makeshift oven by balancing 2 other stones on a large one already present there. To his surprise the fixed stone grew larger. He brought 2 larger stones & tried again, but the fixed stone grew larger still. In a fit of rage, the servant hit the fixed stone with another he was holding. To his shock, blood started oozing out of the fixed stone. When they narrated these events to the Brahmin, he realised the stone had divine power & sprinkled some of the holy water he had brought from Rameshwaram. The bleeding stopped & Sri Dharma Sastha appeared in front of them and blessed them. He asked the Brahmin to construct a temple & worship Him there for the benefit of all. He also specified that no living beings should be harmed in the name of constructing the temple.

Hearing of these developments, the king of Kottarakkara got the temple constructed. As instructed by the Lord, no living beings were harmed, & even today the fish in the Kulathupuzha stream are reverently fed. This ritual called 'Meenoottu' or 'feeding the fish' is a very important one associated with this temple. The most important festival here is Vishu/Malayalam new year celebrated for 10 days from April 5-14 or from April 6-15.

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa