Ayyappan (was Re: Hindu new years day)

[Vidhyanath Rao]

Bijoy Misra <bmisra at FAS.HARVARD.EDU> wrote:
> Do people know much about Ayyappa festival in Kerala?
> Apparently people see a light on this sankranti day.

I waited for list-wide replies. As there were none, I will attempt
to sharpen the questions:

(1) How far back do the Harihara cycle go? Is it regional or
is it found in North Indian Puranas as well?

(2) The light is reported to come from a temple in an `unexplored'
(! = unmapped?) hill, Ponnambala Medu, to the north-east of Sabari
Mala(i). It appears at dusk. This combination is suggestive, but
the catch is that it appears as per the sidereal calender.

(3) Interestingly, (one version of) the Ayyappan legend makes the
last day of Dhanus his birth day. The combination of birth of the
hero and light in the east on the start of `uttaraayana' (again
ignoring the tropical vs sidereal issue) is intriguing. Are there
any analogs in India? (The nearest one I know is the cycle of
Mithras, which I still believe to be the origin of the Star of
Bethlehem.)

-Nath