Sastha and Buddha: Buddhist Vestiges in Southern Western Ghats of Kerala
// May 20th, 2012 // No Comments » // Culture and Ecology
Buddhist vestige at Kallupacha, RPL Estate, Kulathupuzha. Carved into a fine granite boulder with three doorways
The western foothills of the southern ranges in the Western Ghats are known for ancient and popular Sastha Temples of Kerala. Sabarimala, Achankovil, Ariankavu, Kulathupuzha and Sasthamkotta are prominent Dharma Sastha or Ayyappa temples located in and around this region. Their proximity to the Tamil Country in the east and Malakootam or Malaya Kootam/Parvatham (Now Agasthya Kootam) in the south are remarkable. Malaya Kootam is still called Pothiyil Mala (variation of Boddhiyil Mala) and it was also called Pothalaka in Buddhist lore, the seat of the Avalokiteswara Boddhisatva. It is a ghat region revered by the Hindus and the Buddhists alike.
Kattalapara Buddhist vestige. near Shenduruny sanctuary, Kulathupuzha. Abandoned due to poor stone quality. Now three doorways are worshiped as representing Hindu, Christian and Islamic religions
Dharma Sastha is a synonym for the Buddha. Ayyappan is an Avalokiteswaran later Hinduized and appropriated by Brahmanism in the early middle ages as an offspring born out of the Siva-Vishnu union. The metamorphosis of this deity through the violent conflicts and negotiations involving Vajrayana (Tantric Buddhism) Saivism and Vaishnavism is evident in the legend. In the Tamil Country Pali words Ayyan, Appan, Achan, Ayyappan and Puthan refer to the enlightend one at least from BC third century.
Kottukal rock cut temple, near Anchal.
Vajrayana used various Avalokiteswaras and Boddhisatva idols with consorts to popularize the cult and it was easy for Brahmanism to appropriate it overnight. Like the Buddha Nilakandha temple of Nepal or the Padmanabha temple of Thiruvananthapuram the Ayyappa temples were easily modified into Hindu Brahmanical ones. Some scholars also argue that Tantric Buddhism itself was a clever deviation made by the Brahmanical usurpers who joined the Buddhist Sangha for the gradual sabotage as the basic teachings of the compassionate one challenged Brahmanism and caste.
Ariankavu Ayyappa temple at the eastern end of Kollam pass close to Tamilakam
The Buddhist rock cut vestiges in and around the Kulathupuzha forests prove the early presence of missionaries in the Kollam pass well before the advent of the common era. It can be assumed that they entered the western slopes of the Western Ghats through the Ariankavu pass and established their Pallys and Pallykootams in the lower foothills. The rock cut constructions in Kallupacha in RPL estate in Kulathupuzha and Kattalapara close to the Shenduruny sanctuary are still surviving relics of early Buddhist rock architecture.
Kulathupuzha Sastha temple. The idol represents a Kulanthai or boy
The same architectural pattern and style of carving are found in the rock temple at Kottukal near Anchal. As the first two vestiges are inside plantations and forests they are almost in abandoned state but the Kottukal rock cut temple is modified into a Siva temple by later Saivism that entered Kerala in the 8th and 9th centuries. It also shows remarkable resemblance to Kaviyur rock temple near Thiruvalla and Kallil Jain temple near Perumbavur.
River Kallada at Kulathupuzha temple. Location of fish-feeding, an ancient conservationist practice related to Buddhism and Jainism as in Triprayar
It is interesting to note that the bigger shrines close to important mountain routes and the popular ones were transformed into bigger Hindu temples while the smaller vestiges and rock carvings were neglected and forgotten in the jungle. On June 1, 2011 the Hindu published an article on the report of Dr Rajendran an archeologist who surveyed the region. According to him these vestiges are related to early Buddhism that reached Kerala in the last centuries of BC era and the whole Ariankavu, Kulathupuzha, Ponmudi belt still holds the relics of this early Buddhist cultural intervention.
Mahamaya/Mayadevi in Kulthupuzha in classic Yakshi stance with a mirror in hand and leaning onto a tree. Mahamaya is the mother of Buddha who is the central deity in Kilirur and Neelamperur
According to Dr Rajendran Malsya Mudra or fish signs are identified in the carving sites that prove the Buddhist identity of the makers. In Kulathupuzha fish-feeding is also an important ritual that is still practiced showing the Buddhist conservationist spirit of the shrine. Such practices of conservation are still sustaining in many temples all over Kerala as in Thriprayar in Thrissur district. Naga deities and Mahamaya (mother of the Buddha) idol are also worshiped in Kulathupuzha.
Naga deities in Kulathupuzha Sastha temple
I visited the region on 18th and 19th May 2012 and got the opportunity to see and experience the unique ecology and cultural traces related to the ancient conservationist traditions of Kerala. The Thenmala eco-tourism project and rivers Kallada and Kallar along with the numerous life forms offer plenty of learning experiences for the seeking.
Indilayaappan idol. An ambiguous deity in Ariankavu Ayyappa shrine, showing the Vajrayan, Saiva and Vaishnava scramble
