Mutta Pathi ( ta, முட்ட பதி), is one of the Pancha pathi, which are the primary centers for worship of the Ayyavazhi. This is the third important pilgrim center of

Ayyavazhi Ayyavazhi ( ta, அய்யாவழி, ml, അയ്യാവഴി ''Ayyāvaḻi'' , ) is a henotheistic belief that originated in South India.Tha. Krishna Nathan, ''Ayyaa vaikuNdarin vaazvum sinthanaiyum'', p. 62: "" (The day at which Vaik ...

. This place earn the religious importance in Akilam from the event that, Ayya Vaikundar is given two

Vinchai In the literature of Hinduism, Vinchai are proclamations and instructions to the newly born child Vaikundar, by his father Lord Narayana, also known as Vishnu, one of the three godheads in Akilathirattu Ammanai, the source of Ayyavazhi mythology ...

s here by

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is con ...

under the Sea; One just before the arrest of Vaikundar by

Swathi Thirunal ( ml, സ്വാതി തിരുനാള്‍ രാമവർമ്മ) (16 April 1813 – 26 December 1846) was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He is also considered as a brilliant music composer and is credited with over 4 ...

and the second after the completion of

Thuvayal Thavasu {{Ayyavazhi Thuvayal Thavasu, literally washing penance, was a significant religious event that took place in the 19th century. It was also called as thuvayal panthi. (panthi means an arrangement of people in a row for meals during feasts). By t ...

. Also, this is the place where the second phase of Thuvayal Thavasu is carried out by ''Thuvayal Pandarams'' after completing it in

Vakaippathi Vakaippathi, one among the Panchappathis is a holy site for the People of Ayyavazhi. Vakaippathi is the place situated 4 km northeast to Kanyakumari in the seashore near vattakkotai. This is the place where 700 families from Swamithoppe ...

for about six-months. Alongside of

Swamithoppe Swamithope (alternate spelling Swamithoppe) is the name of a village that lies southeast of the City of Nagercoil, the capital of the District of Kanyakumari in the State of Tamil Nadu, at the extreme southern tip of India. In the past, Swamitho ...

, it attracts a huge amount of devotees annually across southern

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Legendary and History

After the Trail with the King of Travancore,

Vaikundar Ayya Vaikundar (c.1833 –c.1851) ( ta, அய்யா வைகுண்டர், sa, अय्या वैघुण्ढर्) also known as Vaikunda Swami is the first and the foremost Purna avatar of Eka-Paran born to Lord ...

reached

and instructed his followers to go for the

. As per, 700 families participated in the mass-austrity. They completed a

Tavam Tapas (Sanskrit: तपस्) is a variety of austere spiritual meditation practices in Indian religions. In Jainism, it means asceticism (austerities, body mortification); in Buddhism, it denotes spiritual practices including meditation and se ...

of six-months. Then as per the instruction of Ayya in the dream of one of the participants, they all moved to Mutta pathi. That place was then owned by ''Siva Loganatha Iyer'' who worked in the palace of the

King of Travancore The Maharaja of Travancore was the principal title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Travancore in the southern part of Kerala, India. The Maharaja of Travancore was the topmost ruler of Travancore until 1949, when Travancore was annexed into Indi ...

. God appeared to him in his dream and order him to grant that land to the ''Thuvayal pandarams''. So he went to the spot where he wondered to witness the whole mass of 700 families. He by doubting the geniunity of their Tavam, he asked them that, ''"If your austrity is true make all the coconuts from these trees to fall off. If so I will give away this land for you people to construct a temple."'' Hearing this they all pray sincerely towards God facing the Sea. Wonderfully, all the Coconuts fall of before the closure of the prayer. Iyer was moved by witnessing this scene and grant that of land for them. This Mutta Pathi was the place where

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

during the

Dvapara Yuga ''Dvapara Yuga'' ( Dwapara Yuga), in Hinduism, is the third and third best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Treta Yuga'' and followed by '' Kali Yuga''. ''Dvapara Yuga'' lasts for 864,000 years (2,400 divi ...

, constructed a fort in order for protecting the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowl ...

from the

Kauravas ''Kaurava'' is a Sanskrit term which refers to descendants of Kuru, a legendary king of India who is the ancestor of many of the characters of the epic '' Mahabharata''. Usually, the term is used for the 100 sons of King Dhritarashtra and his ...

and ruled over it. Akilam calls it as '' 'Muttappathi Nadu' '' and also treats this place with high

Sacrement A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...

and importance.

Location and religious status

This

Pathi Pathi ( ta, பதி - "The place where God is") is the name of the primary centres of congregational worship for the South Indian religious system of Ayyavazhi, having a relatively large structure like that of a temple. They are seven in numb ...

is located 14 km South-east to

Nagercoil Nagercoil, also spelt as Nagarkovil ("Temple of the Nāgas", or Nagaraja-Temple), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Kanyakumari District in Tamil Nadu state, India. Situated close to the tip of the Indian peninsula, it lies on ...

3 km North to

Cape Comorin Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland I ...

in the Sea-shore. It was also located 7 km east to

Swamithope Swamithope (alternate spelling Swamithoppe) is the name of a village that lies southeast of the City of Nagercoil, the capital of the District of Kanyakumari in the State of Tamil Nadu, at the extreme southern tip of India. In the past, Swami ...

. It also lies half-a-way between the historical

Circular fort A circular rampart (German: ''Ringwall'') is an embankment built in the shape of a circle that was used as part of the defences for a military fortification, hill fort or refuge, or was built for religious purposes or as a place of gathering. The ...

and the

Kanyakumari Kanniyakumari (; , referring to Devi Kanya Kumari), also known as Cape Comorin, is a city in Kanniyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent and the southernmost city in mainland I ...

the Southern tip of the

Sub-continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven r ...

. There is a direct bus service from

to here. Mutta Pathi is located at The present construction was established there and was under the direct control of the

Payyan dynasty Payyan dynasty is the family which manage and administer Swamithope pathi, the temple of Ayyavazhi Ayyavazhi ( ta, அய்யாவழி, ml, അയ്യാവഴി ''Ayyāvaḻi'' , ) is a henotheistic belief that originated in South ...

and later, due to some litigations, the land was auctioned by the government. Those who got the land in the auction conducted the daily

Panividai Ayyavazhi rituals are the religious practices prevalent among the followers of Ayyavazhi. Most of them are connected with Akilam and Arul Nool and a few, though not associated with the holy books, are practiced for over a century right from the b ...

. Now, their descendants conduct the panividai and administer the

and is managed by a Trust. The sea near this place is called the '' 'milk-ocean' ''.

Theerthakkarai Theerthakkarai is a holy place of Ayyavazhi. It is located south-east of the main pathi at Muttappathi at the end of the Muttapathi road at the rocky-shores. It is the second holiest sea-theertham according to Akilam. This is the place where th ...

, located 0.6 km south-east of Muttapathi is the second holiest sea theertham as per Akilam. It was sanctified by the fact that the second as well as the third

Vinchai to Vaikundar In the literature of Hinduism, Vinchai are proclamations and instructions to the newly born child Vaikundar, by his father Lord Narayana, also known as Vishnu, one of the three godheads in Akilathirattu Ammanai, the source of Ayyavazhi mythology. ...

is offered here. Regarding religious importance, this Pathi is important next to

Ambala Pathi Ambala Pathi ( ta, அம்பல பதி), also known as ''Pallathu pathi'' or ''Moolakunda pathi,'' is one of the primary pathi of the Ayyavazhi, and the second important pilgrim center of Ayyavazhi and the place where Ayya Vaikundar is sai ...

and Swamithope pathi, since the second and third

s, which are the important instructions for the incarnational activities of

was given by

from here. Also this center gains additionally the importance that, the

Thuvayal thavasu {{Ayyavazhi Thuvayal Thavasu, literally washing penance, was a significant religious event that took place in the 19th century. It was also called as thuvayal panthi. (panthi means an arrangement of people in a row for meals during feasts). By t ...

was also held here, though the first phase of it was conducted in

. Then it was also important and sacred even before the incarnation of Vaikundar right from the

, Since

ruled this place.

Architecture and Structure

As all other

s, also here in Mutta Pathi, the

Palliyarai Palliyarai is a Tamil word used for the Sanctum Sanctoram in Hindu temples, the equivalent of garbhagriha in Sanscritic or Indo-Aryan languages. It generally means the place for divine resting and is considered very holy by the Hindus. In many tra ...

forms the inner and the central spot of the whole architecture. An inner corridor, which allows the worshippers to circum-ambulate, surrounds the Palliyarai. In front of this inner corridor, there is a hall in which the prayers are conducted. Sivayu Medai is located in the south of Palliyarai and the ''Vahana Purai'' (which house Vahanas) in the Far South. The

Flag pole A flagpole, flagmast, flagstaff, or staff is a pole designed to support a flag. If it is taller than can be easily reached to raise the flag, a cord is used, looping around a pulley at the top of the pole with the ends tied at the bottom. The fla ...

is placed some apart from

. Then the Outer-corridor surrounds all these which allows the worshippers to circum-ambulate the whole

Prayers and Festivals

Though the

s are conducted thrice a day the special panividais are on every Sundays. The Kodiyetru thirunal is celebrated here during the

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

Month of Panguni starting from the second Friday of Panguni and last for eleven days. The Thiru-eadu Vasippu here is celebrated here for seventeen days starting from the second Friday of the Tamil month of Karthigai. Another important festival celebrated by

followers centering Muttappathi is the

Panguni Theertham Panguni Theertham is a festival which is celebrated in honour of the Tavam of Vaikundar. This festival is also called "Tava Dinam". On this day a procession starts from Swamithoppe Pathi to Muttappathi. This festival is celebrated on the Tamil ...

. It is a One-day-festival celebrated on the Second Friday of Tamil month Panguni. On that day people from

march in great numbers to Muttapathi under the leadership of Payyan.

References

* Dr. R. Ponnu (2000), ''Sri Vaikunda Swamigal and Struggle for Social Equality in South India'', Ram Publishers. * G.Patrick (2003), ''Religion and Subaltern Agency'', University of Madras. * C. Umai Thanu & P. Kasi Udayam (2003), ''Bhagavan Vaikunda Swamigal Varalaru'', Publisher: Ari Gopalan. * R. Shunmugam (2001), ''Nadar Kulathil Narayanar Avatharam'', Nadar Kulatheepam Publishers. {{Ayyavazhi large Holy cities Pancha pathi Worship centers of Ayyavazhi

Legendary and History

Location and religious status

Architecture and Structure

Prayers and Festivals

See also

References