Every night at Sabarimala, after the last worship, the Harivarasanam is sung and the lamps of the sanctum are put out one by one as it proceeds. When the last line is finished the doors are closed and the temple is shut until morning. It is a lullaby — an urakkupattu — sung to put a deity to sleep, and there is almost nothing else like it in Indian temple practice.
🌛 Harivarasanam at a Glance
Language: Sanskrit, in a Kerala devotional idiom
Form: 8 stanzas, 32 lines, in a simple flowing metre
Attributed to: Kambangudi Kulathur Iyer
Function: urakkupattu — a lullaby; the closing of the sanctum
Sung at: the Athazha Puja, the last worship of the night
Famous through: the K. J. Yesudas recording
📑 Table of Contents
🕯️ The Nightly Closing
The Sabarimala day ends with the Athazha Puja. After it, the harivarasanam is sung — traditionally by the melshanthi, the chief priest — and as it is sung the lamps in the sanctum are extinguished in sequence. At the end, the last lamp is put out, the doors are closed, and the temple remains shut until the next morning's opening.
📌 A lullaby for a deity
The theological premise is the same one that governs Indian temple ritual generally: the deity in the sanctum is treated as present and as a person, and is therefore woken, bathed, dressed, fed, entertained and — at the end of the day — put to sleep. The Suprabhatam at Tirumala is the morning half of the same logic; the Harivarasanam is the evening half.
What is unusual is not the practice but the text: a lullaby of this quality, in Sanskrit, which the whole of a pilgrimage tradition sings together, and which is inseparable from a physical act — the lamps going out, one line at a time.
📜 The Text
harivarāsanaṁ viśhvamohanaṁ
haridadhīśhvaraṁ ārādhyapādukam |
arivimardanaṁ nityanartanaṁ
hariharātmajaṁ devam āśhraye ||
He who is seated on Hari's throne, the enchanter of the world, lord of the lord of lions, whose sandals are worthy of worship, crusher of enemies, ever dancing — the son of Hari and Hara — I take refuge in that god.
Each of the eight stanzas ends with the same two words: hariharātmajaṁ devam āśhraye — “I take refuge in the god who is the son of Hari and Hara.” The epithet is the theological centre of the whole Ayyappa tradition, and the song repeats it eight times.
💡 The refrain and what it asserts
Hariharatmaja — the son of Hari (Vishnu) and Hara (Shiva) — is not a casual compound. It names Ayyappa as born of both, and the Sabarimala tradition's practice of drawing pilgrims across sectarian lines follows from it. The song's construction, which returns to the phrase at the end of every stanza, is the doctrine stated by repetition.
The intervening lines name the deity through the standard epithets — dweller of the mountain, the one seated in the lotus posture, bearer of the bell, the compassionate, the remover of sorrow — and each stanza is a fresh set of names ending in the same surrender.
🎵 The Recording, and the Practice
The K. J. Yesudas rendering, recorded for the 1975 Malayalam film Swami Ayyappan, is the version played at Sabarimala and everywhere else. As with the Subbulakshmi Suprabhatam, a single performance has become effectively inseparable from the text — pilgrims who have never seen the Sanskrit know the melody exactly.
In practice
- At Sabarimala: nightly, at the close of the Athazha Puja, with the lamps extinguished as it is sung.
- At home: as the last thing before sleep, particularly during the 41-day vratam that precedes the pilgrimage.
- Through the Mandala season — mid-November to late December — and at Makaravilakku.
- At Ayyappa temples generally, where the same closing practice is followed.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Harivarasanam sung for?
It is an urakkupattu — a lullaby — sung at the close of the Athazha Puja, the last worship of the night. As it is sung the sanctum lamps are extinguished in sequence; at the end the doors close and the temple stays shut until morning. The premise is temple ritual's general one: the deity is present as a person, so is woken, bathed, fed — and put to sleep.
Who wrote the Harivarasanam?
Generally attributed to Kambangudi Kulathur Iyer, with its adoption at Sabarimala associated with the devotee V. R. Gopala Menon and the temple's practice from the mid-twentieth century. Details differ between tellings. What is consistent: the song is comparatively recent as temple texts go — not Puranic, and should not be described as such.
What does hariharatmajam devam ashraye mean?
“I take refuge in the god who is the son of Hari and Hara” — it ends every one of the eight stanzas. Hariharatmaja is not a casual compound: it names Ayyappa as born of both Vishnu and Shiva, and Sabarimala's practice of drawing pilgrims across sectarian lines follows from it. The song is doctrine stated by repetition.
When should the Harivarasanam be sung at home?
As the last thing before sleep, mirroring its temple function. Particularly during the 41-day vratam before the pilgrimage, through the Mandala season from mid-November to late December, and at Makaravilakku. Ayyappa temples generally follow the same closing practice.
🙏 Conclusion
The Harivarasanam is eight stanzas that all end the same way — I take refuge in the god who is the son of Hari and Hara — and a nightly ritual in which the lamps go out as it is sung. It is a lullaby for a deity, which is exactly what the temple tradition's logic requires and which almost nothing else in India actually does. When the last line ends, the doors close.