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Thursday, January 20, 2011

മകരജ്യോതി / മകരവിളക്ക്‌ ... A compilation work from our Blogosphere (ബ്ലോഗുലകം)

"The light is an artificial fire clandestinely lit by the officials of Sabarimala temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board and Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) in connivance with some of the forest and police officials. It is created by burning a large quantity of camphor cubes kept in a silver platter.

On 28 May 2008, Kantararu Maheswararu Thantri, the head priest of Sabarimala, said in a press statement that there was nothing divine in the “Jyothi” and that it was man-made.

On a live news show on Indiavision channel G. Madhavan nair, former Devaswom Board President also said that the light was manmade and lit by Devswom board itself.


In May 2008, Rahul Easwar, grandson of Sabarimala chief priest clarified that it is a misunderstanding in the mind of misinformed people not informed devotees. Makarajyothi is different and Makaravillkku is different that's why there are two names. Makarajyothi is a celestial star while Makaravillakku is the symbolic deeparadhana in the hills, where there was a temple earlier.

On 29.05.2008 G. Sudhakaran, the state Minister for temple affairs gave his own justification for the perpetration of the fraud -”Makara jyothi and Makara vilakku are not the same things, the latter of which is man-made.

former employee of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Shivananda said the light is not a miracle.”When I got transferred to the Pampa division of KSEB near Sabarimala, I got an opportunity to actually see this light being lit in 1981,” he said.”A Devaswom Board assistant engineer Karunakaran Nair, two policemen and two labourers had come there. They had one or two kilograms of camphor and an aluminium vessel. The light was lit by a KSEB driver VR Gopinathan Nair,” Shivananda explains. This version of the light is widely known in Kerala but rarely discussed.

The rationalists in 1981 to expose this massive fraud. The rationalists photographed the entire sequence of events leading to the very lighting of the ‘divine’ Jyothi. News channel NDTV 24 X 7 on 11 January 2007, when its correspondent, Rajesh Ramachandran, filed a report from Ponnambalamedu itself with appropriate visuals. Unfortunately, the reports of none of these exposes reached the teeming multitude that throng the hill shrine every season; especially those devotees belonging to the states other than Kerala. The governments (both the Left and the non-Left), with their eyes on the huge revenue brought into the state by the devotees, continued to perpetrate this fraud, season after season, year after year. Since 1982 this fraud has been committed under heavy police protection. The rationalist activists who attempted to visit the place again in 1982 and later were roughed up by the police. "



T.N Gopakumar's report (Keralakaumudi, 2008)
Click to enlarge












Yes, This is the place where it is lit. It is also visible on Google maps/earth.













Rahul Easwar, clarifying Makara Jyothi-Vilakku

Indiavison-Manorama News





Nothing divine about Sabarimala light

NDTV





Wikipedia

"Makarajyoti is believed to be a star which is visible from the Sabarimala Shrine and surrounding areas on the day of Makar Samkranti and its vision is considered as auspicious on that day by the devotees.
It has been reported in the editorial pages of some of the esteemed newspapers such as "Indian Express" that some tribals living in a remote area visible from the Sabarimala shrine light up a medium sized forest fire and the sight of this was originally mistaken as light from heaven. The tribals continue to light up the forest fire these days to keep the misunderstanding going. Now this belief has taken mythical proportions and now nobody dares to question the myth.
"Whereas Makara Vilakku is man made lights lit at the time of Deeparadhana on the eastern horizon, Makarajyothi is believed to be heaven made. It is being lit there in comemmoration of the aarathi performed by Devrishis and Devas at the time of revelation of His Divine Roopa by Manikantan. This event marks the culmination of the long and arduous pilgrimage to Sabarimala. This star disappears in the evening after the thiruvaabharanam (divine ornaments) are brought into the sanctum sanctorium and are placed on the Lord. The most significant rituals of worship are performed at the day of winter solsticeMakara Sankaranthi day (every 14th of January) . It draws the second largest number of pilgrims to a place of worship in India which is to this remote forest in the western Ghats in Kerala. Makara Rashi or Makar rasi (Capricorn Zodiac sign) is the tenth among 12 Rasi kootas in Hindu Astrology. The star makara is often mistakenly used to refer to the light appearing thrice on the hill next to the sanctum sanctorum, which is in fact the makara vilakku since vilakku, literally means a Lamp or light. According to the astronomical calendar the Winter solstice should be on December 21 and should be should be celebrated on the same day, but due to the unscientific method in the calculations in the ancient Vedic calenders, it is now usually celebrated on 14 January. The reason is that the wobbling of the earth was not known to mankind until 1891. The ancient astrologers who laid out the Sanskrit Zodiac in Vedic times did not know of the shifting of the north pole due the wobbling of the earths axis. So there is a delay of 24 days from the actual date of the winter solstice in the celebrations at the temple.
This star disappears as the final thiruvaabharanam (divine ornaments) are brought into the sanctum sanctorum and are placed on the Lord. The main worshipping rituals are performed at the day of Makara Sankaranthi (every 14 January) day. It draws the second largest number of pilgrims in the country. The makarajyoti (star) is often mistakenly used to refer to the light appearing thrice on the hill next to the sanctum sanctorum, which is in fact the makaravilakku (Lamp/light)."

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