Lord Ayya Vaikundar (c.1809–c.1851; Tamil: அய்யா வைகுண்டர்), known to his followers as tenth avatar or incarnation of Lord Vishnu, also called as Sriman Narayana Vaikundasamy or Narayana Pandaram, was a 19th-century social reformer and iconoclast who worked for the upliftment of downtrodden people in the Kingdom of Travancore. He is central to the Hindu denomination of Ayyavazhi, as per holy scripture. Sampooranathevan also known as Muthukutty was born in 1809 to Ponnu Nadar and Veyilal Amma at Poovandanthope in the Kanyakumari District (part of Travancore then). They initially named the child Mudisoodum Perumal, meaning "Lord with a crown". But the people complained to authorities about the name and they forced the parents to change his name to Muthukutty.
Muthukutty was a religious boy who had special interest in Lord Vishnu. The holy book Akilam mentions that he set a pedestal for Lord Vishnu in his house.[5] At age of seventeen, Muthukutty started to live with Thirumalammal from the nearby village of Puviyur and she lived with him only to serve him during his public activities.[6] Thirumalammal had been married, but left her former husband to marry Muthukutty.[7] According to quotes found in Akilam, they had a male child, who was sired by her first husband. Muthukutty earned his living as a Palmyra palm climber and as an agricultural laborer.[8] Ayyavazhi followers believe that Lord Vishnu itself incarnated as Lord Ayya Vaikundar during an encounter with a deity Goddess Lekshmi.
As per Akilam, Muthukutty in his twenty-fourth year, he was struck by illness and suffered for a year. His mother took her sick son to the temple at Thiruchendur, during a festival there. He went into the sea and disappeared. The parents searched for his body for one day. According to the legend, the day itself inside the sea Muthukutty also known as Sampooranathevan was granted moksha by Lord Narayana. Thereafter Lord Narayana itself incarnated as Lord Ayya Vaikundar as a son of Supreme Lord Narayana and Goddess Lekshmi, that is considered to be the unique in ayyavazhi mythology. On the third day, Lord Ayya Vaikundar appeared on the sea-shore. On seeing him, Muthukutty's mother mistook him for her son and tried to embrace him. He told her that he was no longer her son, but the son of Supreme Lord Narayana.[9] Then he started walking towards Detchanam. This place became a holy place for the devotees of Ayyavazhi and they erected a temple there named Avatharappathi. This event is celebrated during the festival of Ayya Vaikundar Avataram.
Lord Ayya Vaikundar, who arose from the sea at Thiruchendur (per Akilathirattu Ammanai) on 20th of the Tamil Month of Masi (4_March_1831 CE, Friday) is considered a unique avatar by the followers of Ayyavazhi. Akilam, speaks about it in great detail, as summarized below:
In each of the five yugas prior to the avathar of Lord Ayya Vaikundar, as each fragment of Kroni (evil or Devil) came into physical form, the Lord Vishnu incarnated as well, destroying them. However, in this the sixth yuga, the evil was called Kali, (not the Hindu deity)[10] and having no physical form (see Pre-Incarnational Events for this account) he occupied the mind of people of earth as the Mayai (illusion), causing them to behave discourteously. Kaliyan claimed, it was impossible to destroy him by the use of weapons in this yuga as in the previous ones as he held the boon from Supreme god Shiva, that is the reason Lord Narayan, to incarnate as "pandaram" in the world to...
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