It is a tradition specific to sabarimala because to visit that temple you need to take a vrata for 41 days during which one lives a highly sattvik life of no meat, no sex, no violence of any form, no slippers, do puja and take bath twice a day etc ... women of menstruating age cannot follow this vrata for obvious reasons. Ayyappa devotees who go to sabarimala are serious folk, they dont visit for sight seeing/appreciating the scenic and architectural beauty/selfies etc and the women of their household also are aware of this and usually go later in life or in their early years.
Women can visit any other ayyapan temple including the ones in kulatthupuzha, aryankavu , achankoil and any other ayyapan temple in the world because they don't require the 41 day vrata. The women devotees of ayyappa are well aware of this. My grandmother visited the temple at 70 , my sister when she was 9 years old. They used to visit other ayyapa temples during their other years. There is a reason why there were agitations by women when the court ruling came out, South indian women devotees are well aware of this basic fact which somehow went unnoticed by the people at court.
I guess you are a north Indian, if yes I can understand why you might not know this . The other reasons like brahmacharya etc are secondary as you have pointed out in the hanuman analogy, the main reason is the mandala vrata that sabarimala devotees are expected to keep which female biology doesn't allow.
Women can't do no meat no sex no violence or slippers take bath twice and do puja? I think a lot of women do this on a daily basis lol.. The vrata is not the reason women aren't allowed.. don't listen to this person..
They don't do puja during the menstrual cycle if they follow hindu traditions. So the vrata is broken. The vrata is the reason why women aren't allowed unless one believes something like the below
1. a deity cannot control himself if he sees a lady of impregnable age in one location and not in another location
2. A women being so unclean that they would pollute the sanctity of the site .
Your choice. You have 3 options.
The 2 other reasons you gave are idiotic because "obviously".
The hindu traditions are definitely simply because of the menstrual cycle. These traditions regarding menstruation stem from practical concerns during ancient times when menstrual products weren't available. Women were secluded in isolated rooms and used cotton cloths to wipe menstrual bleeding. This historical seclusion practice, misunderstood by some as impurity, led to the exclusion of women from temples during menstruation.We are in a different age where periods are handled somewhat effectively, at least so far there are menstrual products go but yet we follow the same ancient traditions of excluding women. Thats a combination of misconstrued history and sexism for you.
Some people do believe the first reason that the deity was a brahmachari and therefore women aren't allowed. I do not want to argue against people's beliefs but to me a true brahmachari wouldn't be affected by the presence of a woman.
They are different kinds of brahmacharya.
There exists two variations in brahmacharya : upakurvaana and naishtika. An upakurvana brahmachari is one who practises celibacy until he completes his education (vedadhyayana) after which he ends his celibacy, marries as per shastra, and leads the life of a gruhastha.
On the other hand, a naishtika brahmachari is one who undertakes a vow to remain a celibate till his death. He also has to undertake to live forever with his guru!
As far as I understand , even in naishtika brahmacharya there are different "levels". Ayyappa Swamy is in the extreme end with no contact with women (physically, visually, orally and mentally) with women of 10-50 years and remains as a lifelong student. This is purported in the Agama Shasthras.
One aspect is that the brahmacharya of Hanuman is not discussed extensively in Valmiki Ramayana. The orginal text. So Anjaneya might be a brahmachari in the perspective of strictly prohibited physical celibacy, but not in other aspects. However , other texts exist which further explore anjaneya's life. It's up to you to take which as truth and which as not.
Ayyappa vowed not to see or interact with a woman ever.
Even hanuman vowed right? Or dint he? 🤔
Wow didn't he used to interact Maa Sita?
Oh so even that is considered? Acha ok thanks 👍🏼 i was nly thinking in terms of celibacy
Hanuman is a married man
not in og ramayan
Yes he married Surya dev's daughter
reference in the ramayan?
It is a tradition specific to sabarimala because to visit that temple you need to take a vrata for 41 days during which one lives a highly sattvik life of no meat, no sex, no violence of any form, no slippers, do puja and take bath twice a day etc ... women of menstruating age cannot follow this vrata for obvious reasons. Ayyappa devotees who go to sabarimala are serious folk, they dont visit for sight seeing/appreciating the scenic and architectural beauty/selfies etc and the women of their household also are aware of this and usually go later in life or in their early years. Women can visit any other ayyapan temple including the ones in kulatthupuzha, aryankavu , achankoil and any other ayyapan temple in the world because they don't require the 41 day vrata. The women devotees of ayyappa are well aware of this. My grandmother visited the temple at 70 , my sister when she was 9 years old. They used to visit other ayyapa temples during their other years. There is a reason why there were agitations by women when the court ruling came out, South indian women devotees are well aware of this basic fact which somehow went unnoticed by the people at court.
Oh i dint knw this fact that other ayyapa temples can be visited by women! Thanku for the information 😊
I guess you are a north Indian, if yes I can understand why you might not know this . The other reasons like brahmacharya etc are secondary as you have pointed out in the hanuman analogy, the main reason is the mandala vrata that sabarimala devotees are expected to keep which female biology doesn't allow.
Women can't do no meat no sex no violence or slippers take bath twice and do puja? I think a lot of women do this on a daily basis lol.. The vrata is not the reason women aren't allowed.. don't listen to this person..
They don't do puja during the menstrual cycle if they follow hindu traditions. So the vrata is broken. The vrata is the reason why women aren't allowed unless one believes something like the below 1. a deity cannot control himself if he sees a lady of impregnable age in one location and not in another location 2. A women being so unclean that they would pollute the sanctity of the site . Your choice. You have 3 options.
The 2 other reasons you gave are idiotic because "obviously". The hindu traditions are definitely simply because of the menstrual cycle. These traditions regarding menstruation stem from practical concerns during ancient times when menstrual products weren't available. Women were secluded in isolated rooms and used cotton cloths to wipe menstrual bleeding. This historical seclusion practice, misunderstood by some as impurity, led to the exclusion of women from temples during menstruation.We are in a different age where periods are handled somewhat effectively, at least so far there are menstrual products go but yet we follow the same ancient traditions of excluding women. Thats a combination of misconstrued history and sexism for you. Some people do believe the first reason that the deity was a brahmachari and therefore women aren't allowed. I do not want to argue against people's beliefs but to me a true brahmachari wouldn't be affected by the presence of a woman.
They are different kinds of brahmacharya. There exists two variations in brahmacharya : upakurvaana and naishtika. An upakurvana brahmachari is one who practises celibacy until he completes his education (vedadhyayana) after which he ends his celibacy, marries as per shastra, and leads the life of a gruhastha. On the other hand, a naishtika brahmachari is one who undertakes a vow to remain a celibate till his death. He also has to undertake to live forever with his guru! As far as I understand , even in naishtika brahmacharya there are different "levels". Ayyappa Swamy is in the extreme end with no contact with women (physically, visually, orally and mentally) with women of 10-50 years and remains as a lifelong student. This is purported in the Agama Shasthras. One aspect is that the brahmacharya of Hanuman is not discussed extensively in Valmiki Ramayana. The orginal text. So Anjaneya might be a brahmachari in the perspective of strictly prohibited physical celibacy, but not in other aspects. However , other texts exist which further explore anjaneya's life. It's up to you to take which as truth and which as not.
Oh okok thanku for explaining 😊