Swami Ayyappan (TV series)

Synopsis

The divine seer Durvasa pronounces the curse of losing all his opulence upon Lord Indra, the king of Heaven, for slighting him. Seeking to regain his fortune, Indra, with the aid of the other gods and demons churn the ocean of milk and attain the nectar of immortality; the Amrita. The demons, envious of Indra and the gods steal the Amrita and fight over its ownership amongst themselves. To rid the gods of their troubles, Lord Vishnu incarnates as an enchantress, Mohini who not only steals the Amrita for the devas, but also Lord Shiva's heart.

Even as Indra ascends his throne once again with his regained opulence, Mahishasura, the Demon King of the Rakshasa clan attacks Heaven and Dethrones him. To destroy him and bring back the natural order of nature, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva create Goddess Durga who accomplishes her task successfully. Seeking to avenge her brother, Mahishi, Mahishasura's younger cousin seeks a boon from Brahma that renders her immortal. If she dies, it could only be at the hands of Shiva's and Vishnu's son. Confident that the two male gods cannot have a son together, Mahishi wreaks turmoil in Heaven, drowning the gods in gloom once again.

Meanwhile, Bhasmasura, an ambitious demon performs austerities to please Lord Shiva, and is given a boon, according to his own wishes, to reduce whoever he touches to dust. Skeptic of the boon, he wishes to test the boon on Shiva himself. Shiva, who foresaw that Vishnu would help him, feigns panic and allows Bhasmasura to chase him. Vishnu appears as Mohini, the Enchantress, once again and distracts the demon. She challenges him to a dance competition where he had to mirror every move of Mohini. The Enchantress touches her head at the end of the dance, which is copied by Bhasmasura, who is instantly reduced to ash.

Rajashekharan, the king of the princely state of Pandalam, in Kerala is a childless, wise and brave ruler. He and his queen are much loved by their subjects who pray for the childless royal couple to be blessed with a prince who is just as fair and great as his father, if not, more. To rid himself of the morose environment of the palace, the King goes out on a hunt.

After the death of Bhasmasura, Shiva had immersed himself into solidarity. His companion and mount Nandi reveals this to Narada, the travelling, mystical, loud mouth of a sage who asks requests Shiva to open up his heart to him. Shiva admits that he has developed feelings for Mohini and that he doesn't know how to go about asking Vishnu to allow him to see her again. Narad informs Vishnu of Shiva's desire. Vishnu, flattered, transforms into Mohini once again. She visits Shiva. They talk. They dance. and finally, Shiva makes love to her.

Of their union is born a child, the human incarnation of Dharma Sastha, the lord of Righteous Conduct. Shiva and Vishnu, aware of Rajashekharan's miserable state, leave the child in the forest in such a manner that he would be discovered by the king. Before leaving, Mohini ties a bell around the baby's neck. The child cries loudly, and the gods allow the cries to reach the kings ears who searches for the baby all over the forest. He finally finds the child and snuggles him.

Lord Shiva instantly appears in front of the king in the form of a priest and announces that the baby is of divine origins and that he should take care of him as his own. Rajashekaran happily agrees. Before, Shiva says that the boy is to be named "Manikandan" as he has a "Mani" (Malayalam for "Bell") around his Kandam (Malayalam for "neck") as he was discovered in said state by his new father.

Rajashekaran's entire kingdom rejoices the arrival of Manikandan. The king's minister, who was to be annointed king of Pandalam if the king passed away without an heir is envious of Manikandan from the moment the king announces that Manikandan will succeed him.

Manikandan grew into a boy well versed in academic lore and martial arts. Meanwhile, the Queen gave birth to a son. The King regarded Manikandan as his elder son. The King's corrupt Minister with his deep dislike for Manikandan, and made the innocent Queen believe that ill would befall her if Manikandan was crowned Yuvaraja and that the kingdom actually belonged to her son. They conspired to get rid of Manikandan by hook or crook.

They bribed the royal physician into becoming an accomplice of theirs. The Rani pretended to be afflicted with severe pain in the stomach, and the physician prescribed the milk of a tigress as the only cure. The King knew that none could be deputed for a mission that was so patently suicidal. However, the youthful and valiant Manikandan stepped forth and volunteered to fetch the milk. Despite the worried protestations of his foster-father, he set out for the fearful forests. Days later, Manikandan entered the palace precincts riding a fierce tigress and followed by a pack of its cubs. The schemers were frightened into confessing their nefarious plot. They and others now knew that Manikandan was no ordinary being. They were convinced of His divine origins, and prayed to Him to be with them for their own salvation and for the safety of the kingdom. However, Manikandan was now determined to leave the place. Filled with happiness, grief, fear, wonder and bhakti and self-surrender, the king prayed for the mercy and blessings of Manikandan. He repented he could not fully visualize the truth of the divine powers of the Lord and repeatedly requested Him to forgive him for behaving as if He were only his son. The Lord lovingly embraced the King who continued to pray: " Lord, kindly bless me by freeing me from my egos and the worldly life of birth and rebirth and grant me ' moksha’ (salvation). Kindly continue to be the saviour of my family and stay eternally in my kingdom." Manikandan then enlightened the King on the path of attainment of 'moksha'. These words of the Lord are contained in ‘Bhuthanathageetha'. To the King who is by now mentally cleansed and completely immersed in 'bhakthi', Lord Ayyappa said: "I am to free you from all worldly sorrows & worries and to grant you 'moksha'. All those who are and would be born in your family shall have my blessings unfailingly. I am always accessible to 'bhakthi' and only 'bhakthi." The Lord told the King that he could construct a temple at Sabarimala, north of the holy river Pampa and install His deity there. Ayyappa also explained how the Sabarimala pilgrimage shall be undertaken, emphasizing the importance of 'vrutham' and what the devotees can attain by His 'darshan'. The Lord further consoled the King saying that the devotees who held him and his descendants in 'bhakthi' shall happen to be devoted to Him as well. Manikandan then blessed the King and all others assembled there, and vanished.

The King duly constructed the temple at Sabarimala, dedicated to Him.

Production

Producers Karthikeyan spotted Kaushik babu in a magazine he was invited to the studio , after dressing up everyone was shocked to see the resemblance between Kaushik and the painting of Ayyappa swami. Thus Kaushik who was child artist in Telugu film industry signed into play the lead role marking his Television debut.

Later Devan, Aishwarya, Sukanya, Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, Rajan P. Dev were signed into play the lead roles along with other prominent actors from Malayalam Film and Television industry.

Cast

Awards

Songs

Sequel

Swami ayyappan created waves among the among the malayali audience it was one of the top rated serial in Asianet.In 2010 Merryland Studio aired a series titled Swami ayyappan saram which was a continuation to the series which potrays different experiences of lord Ayyappa.Devan and Kaushik Babu reprised their roles along with Meenakumari and several Malayali artists.

In 2012, the third installment to the series was launched in Asianet titled Sabarimala Shr Dharmashasta which depicts different stories of ayyappa bhaktha's (Devotees of ayyappa).Kaushik Babu made a comeback to malayalam industry through this serial along with K.R.Vijaya , T.S.Raju, Praveena,Maya vishwanath,Harsha and Baby Nayana in the lead roles.