Lord Ayyappa had no associate named Vavar: Scholars

An Ashtamangala Prasnam held under the guidance of Vedic scholar Padmanabha Sharma at Sabarimala shrine in Kerala has said that presiding deity Lord Ayyappa never had any associate going by the name of Vavar.

The findings of Ashtamangala Prasnam — popularly known as Deva Prasnam and held on Saturday and Sunday — were released by the Acharya Sabha on Tuesday. It ruled out the decades-old belief that a Muslim chieftain was Lord Ayyappa’s close associate.

Ashtamangala Prasanam is an advanced version of astrology and it requires in-depth knowledge about Vedas and astronomy to elucidate the results. “What we found out from the Prasna is that there never existed anybody by the name of Vavar and it is a manufactured character without having any Vedic background,” said VG Thampi, President of Viswa Hindu Parishad, Kerala.

He said the Prasnam delivered the message that Lord Ayyappa had an associate by the name of Vapura Swamy, whose name was distorted as Vavar Swamy by persons with vested interest. Devotees thronging the holy shrine in the Western Ghats offer prayers at Vavar temple before proceeding to the sanctum of the main temple.

Padmanabha Sharma, who was assisted by a dozen Vedic scholars, deciphered the divine message and said that the

Lord wants an exclusive temple to be built in the vicinity of Sabarimala in honour of Vapura Swamy, his close associate and military commander. Sharma said that there existed a temple near the shrine of Sabarimala where the presiding deity was Vapura Swamy. “But this temple was destroyed over a period of time,” said Sharma.

The holy shrine of Lord Ayyappa itself was destroyed in a major fire in May 1950, lit by forest brigands and elephant poachers. The temple was then rebuilt from scratch. Though a Commission of Inquiry was set up by the Government, its

findings remain a secret till today,” said Professor Poojappura Krishnan Nair, eminent historian and an authority on spiritual discourses.

Professor CI Issac, former member of Indian Council of Historical Research, said that the first State Government led by the Communist Party of India came to power by giving an assurance to the Hindus that the findings of K Kesava Menon, the then Deputy Inspector General of Police, would be made public.

“But after the electoral victory, they forgot their promise and the subsequent secular governments that ruled the southern State too kept the probe findings under wraps,” Professor Issac said.

Sharma also quoted from Vedic texts about the temple dedicated to Vapura Swamy and said that there never was a character by the name Vavar who finds mention in modern history.

Interestingly, Vavar temple gets huge donations from hundreds of thousands of Ayyappa devotees who throng the shrine every year as it has become customary to worship the dwara palaka (gatekeeper) before entering the shrine.

It was Union Minister of State for Tourism Suresh Gopi who inaugurated the Ashta Mangala Prasna Chintha on Saturday.