Aryankavu Dharma Sastha

Aryankavu Dharma Sastha

Compiled by

P.R.Ramachander

     Aryan Kavu  is 31 km from Punalur.. The temple is  built 35 feet below the  road level. The God is supposed to have married Pushkala   at this temple and  has this consort on his left side.  Pushkala is  supposed to belong to the Saurashtran   community who have occupied parts of Madurai.   They are supposed to have migrated from SAurashtra,   The devotees of this  temple believe that   The God Ayyappa was brought up by the  king of Madurai  and Pushkala who was a SAurashtran girl   fell in love with him. Another story says that Pushkala who was only ten years  old at that time, accompanied her father to Trivandrum and on the way they happened to stay in Aryankavu temple. The girl     fell in love with the God. And on the way back, she merged with the God. Lord Sastha informed this  to the priest of the temple and requested him to honor Pushkala’s father.

   The two main festivals in this village   are the  Madala pooja and the Thirukalyanam festival both celebrated in the month of DEcember.Invitation to the marriage is sent every year by the Travancore Devasvam board to  the Saurashtran community in Madurai    Every year the marriage is  celebrated   following the rituals of  the Saurashtran community in a grand  way  .  Large number of Saurashtra community members attend this festival bringing with them gift    to the bride.

   Nearby this Sastha temple is the Mampazhathurai BHagwathy temple . The Goddess is in a fierce form  at this temple . There are various theories about this temple. Some people believe that   the marriage of Pushkala and Sastha did not take place and    with great anger Pushkala and went to Mampazhathurai      and sat there. Another view is that    Mampazhathurai     is only an Yakshi temple  . This appears as more plausible   because    the people in Tamil Nadu believe that  Pushkala is  married to Dharma Sastha.