Makara Jyothi
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Makara Jyothi is a beacon that appears at dusk on the day of Makara Sankaranthi (14 January) on the Kantamala hills facing (north-eastern side) the Sabarimala temple, a popular Hindu pilgrim center in Kerala. It is widely believed by the devotees (especially those coming from outside the state of Kerala) that this Jyothi appears miraculously at Ponnambalamedu (believed to be the abode of Swami Ayyappan, the presiding deity of Sabarimala temple) and is the celestial manifestation of the god Ayyappan himself. Some others believe that the Jyothi is the Arati performed by the rishis and devas residing in the Kantamala hills. The Makara Jyothi marks the climax of the Makaravilakku season of Sabarimala pilgrimage lasting 41 days.
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[edit] The Truth
Makara Jyothi in fact is a clandestinely made artificial fire (created by burning a large quantity of camphor cubes kept in a silver platter)lighted by the officials of Kerala Forest Department and the authorities of Sabarimala temple and the Travancore Devaswam Board in connivance with the Police Department of Kerala State and the Government of Kerala.
Ponnambalamedu where the camphor-fire is lighted is situated on the hills facing the Sabarimala temple and is in the control of the Forest Department of Kerala State. On the evening of the Makara Sankaranthi day, the officials of the above referred departments assemble at Ponnambalamedu and enact a Puja. After the Srikovil (sanctum sanctorum) of the Sabarimala temple is opened at around 6.30 PM, a message is sent from Sabarimala to those performing the puja at Ponnambalamedu. (In 1981 when the activists of Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham witnessed the event, the message was sent by flashing a search-light from Sabarimala; they must now be using a more advanced means of communication such as a mobile phone). Soon those stationed at Ponnambalamedu light the campher kept in the platter and lift it three times. (In 1981, the camphor was lighted by Gopinathan Nair, a driver with Kerala State Electricity Board).It is this flame that appears to the devotees as the divine Makara Jyothi. Since the Sabarimala temple itself is situtated on yet another hill opposite Ponnambalamedu and about hundreds feet beneath it, to a person witnessing the jyothi from the surroundings of the Sabarimala temple, it appears as celestial and miraculous. And, every effort is made by the authorities of Sabarimala temple and the Government of Kerala to perpetuate the belief that the Jyothi is indeed miraculous.
[edit] The Expose
From as early as in 1973, a number of attempts were made by rationalists and other individuals skeptical of this phenomena to find out the truth behind this so-called miracle. In that year, about 24 persons (including one KP Swamy and Ramadevan) from the Kollam district of Kerala reached Ponnambalamedu on the day of Makara Jyothi and lighted fire crackers. They were later taken into custody by the police after a complaint ("defiling the sanctity of Ponnambalamedu")was lodged by B. Madhavan Nair, the then chairman of Travancore Devaswam Board. Since they did not commit any crime, they were later released.
In 1980, a group of rationalists from Trichur led by T.N.Badran, visted Ponnambalamedu and reported about it. He again was the main resource person when a larger group of rationalist activists visited the place in 1981.
[edit] The Creation of Miracle in 1981
The most successful attempt at exposing this fraud was made in the year 1981, when the activists of Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham went to Ponnambalamedu and took a number of photographs which were later published in various Malayalam magazines, such as Mathrubhoomi, Janayugam, Yukthivicharam, Yukthivadi etc. They also published a widely circulated (in Kerala) Malayalam pamphlet "Makarajyothi Enna Thattippu" (Makarajyothi : A fraud) written by Pavanan, the wellknown literary critic and rationalist.
The following is a brief account of what happened on 14 January 1981 at Ponnambalamedu as per the above-referred pamphlet:
Ponnambalamedu is a flat grass-land spotted with a few trees. About half-a-kilometer away from there was stationed a Jeep (Registration Number: KRV 989) belonging to Travancore Devaswam Board. A crowd of abut 500 persons including women and children (mostly relatives and friends of employees of Kerala State Electricity Board stationed nearby)had come to the site to witness the lighting of the Makara Jyothi.
On the rock facing Sabarimala was engraved the sketches of a pentacle, a Trishul and the sanskrit letter Aum. Next to it, one could also find a plastic bag containing three coconuts, two bananas, a large quantity of bhasmam (holy ash), five packets of incense sticks, a mud vessel and a match box.
At about 6.30 PM, Gopi, the driver with Kerala Electricity Board, and his accomplices filled a vessel with camphor. At about 6.40 PM, when they received a signal from Sabarimala (redlight from a flashlight), Gopinathan Nair lighted the camphor and raised it thrice facing Sabarimala. Interestingly, the rationalists who assembled there also lighted some crude torches and firecrackers.
The radio commentators and reporters of newspapers, clueless about the presence of rationalists/debunkers and their tactics, faithfully reproduced what they saw.
- "There it raises the Makrajyothi; first as a lightning, then as a lamp or star and now as a camphor light!...there it raises, disappers, and then appears again..!" (Malayalam Commentary from Akashavani, 14 January 1981)
- "Makara Jyothis appeared, not once but many times" (Mathrubhumi daily, 15 January 1981)
- "Next to Jyothis, there also appeared a number of small lights" (Deepika daily, 15 January 1981)
These references to repeated and multiple appearance of Makarajyothi on that day undoubtedly refer to the torches lighted by none other than the debunkers.
Enraged by the exposure, the temple authorities instigated the officials of the Road Transport Office who then lodged a case against the owner of the bus used by the activists to reach Ponnambalamedu. (The bus owner was later fined with 1000 rupees for plying the bus in an unauthorised route without the prior permission of the Road Transport Office). From the next year onwards, this fraud is being perpetrated under the protection provided by the state police.
[edit] How to reach Ponnambalamedu
Ponnambalamedu where the miracle of Makara Jyothi is enacted is not inaccessible to human beings as believed by the devotees of Sabarimala temple. It can be reached by road, though one may require the permission of the Department of Forest, Kerala State. From Idukki district, take a bus from Vandiperiyar to Anathodu and get down at Kochu Pamba. From here Ponnambalamedu is about 5 KM away and can be reached by a Jeep/Lorry.
[edit] Related Myths
Other myths too are perpetrated by the authoritees/devotees. One is about the story of the miraculous appearance of eagles hovering over Sabarimala, when the ornaments of the presiding deity is carried, in a procession, from Pandalam palace to the temple. It is believed that once the ornaments reach the temple, the eagle "mysteriously" disappears.
[edit] Reference
- Makara Jyothis Enna Thattippu (Makara Jyothis : A fraud) : Pavanan - Published by Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham, 1981
- Makara Jyothi - A.V.Jose (Yukthivicharam, February 1981)
- Makara Jyothikku Purakil (The secret of Makara Jyothi) - Unni Kakkanad (Yukthivadi, February 1981)
- Vyajagni (The Fake-flame) : T.N.Gopakumar (Kalakaumudi Weekly, Issue No: 1638) (Republished in Yukthirekha, January-February 2007)
[edit] Bibiliography
- Makara Jyothis Enna Thattippu (Makara Jyothis : A fraud) : Pavanan - Published by Kerala Yukthivadi Sangham, 1981
- Sabarimala - Charitrathinteyum Nerinteyum Urakallil (Sabarimala - In the light of History and Truth): Edamaruku (Indian Atheist Publishers, New Delhi)
