Narayan Ravi - Mumbai

Ayyappa

Manikantha - the beloved of the Panthalam royal family

Lord Shiva & Lord Vishnu left the new born child on the banks of the river Pampa. Rajasekhara, the king of the Pandya dynasty of Madurai who had been hunting in the forest at that time, heard the cries of a new born baby. Surprised at the fact that there should be a new born child in such a dense forest populated by wild animals, he rode in the direction of the sound & came upon the child on the banks of the Pampa. Rajasekhara, who was childless, was captivated by the brilliance of the baby. As if reading his mind, a divine sage appeared from nowhere and asked the king to take the baby home & raise Him as his own son. He also said that the child would bring glory to his dynasty & that he would become aware of the child's divinity when He attained 12 years of age. He asked him to name the child 'Manikantha' - meaning 'the one with a bell around His neck'.

Rajasekhara took the child home & presented Him to his queen. The queen was overjoyed. Both king & queen lavished all their love and attention on the child. The minister, who until then had nurtured hopes of becoming king after Rajasekhara, was mighty displeased with the entry of Manikantha into the royal family. Manikantha grew to be the darling of the family, the apple of everyone's eye except the minister. He tried all possible ways to kill Manikantha. On one such occasion the minister mixed poison in Manikantha's food. Manikantha's body bore the brunt of the poison's effect. Lord Shiva Himself came down, disguised as a physician & cured Manikantha. Once again, the minister's plot was foiled. Little did he realise who he was crossing swords with...

May Manikantha bless one and all

Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa