her with his vision. Rama notices the donas, or bowls, of handmade leaves in which she had offered the fruits and is impressed by the hard work Shabari has gone through to make them and, hence, blesses the tree so that the leaves naturally grow in the shape of a bowl. Lord Ram also said that the entire mountain would be known in her name as Shabari mala (Mala in malayalam means mountain. So literal translation means Shabari's mountain) and also said that in Kaliyuga, a son born from Lord Shiva and Lady Mohini, will come there too and will get concretised. He will be known as Dharma Shasta and will guide the estranged people. Shabari also tells Rama to take help from Sugriva and where to find him. The Ramayana says that Shabari was a very bright and knowledgeable saint. The ashram in which Shabari stayed and waited for Lord Rama was called as Shabari Narayan which was situated in today's Shivrinaryan. A town located in Janjgir-Champa district in Chhattisgarh. The temple The Sannidhanam (main temple) is built on a plateau about 40 feet high. The temple was rebuilt after arson and vandalism in 1950. No charges were brought and the earlier stone image of the deity was replaced by a panchaloha (an alloy from five metals) idol, about 1 and half feet. The Panchaloha idol was crafted by Neelakanta Panicker and his younger brother Ayyappa Panicker, residents of Thattavila Vishwakarma family, Chengannur, Kerala, to replace the original stone figure of the deity. Edavankadan T.N. Padmanabhan Achari from Mavaelikkara was appointed the supervisor in charge of new idol by Maharaja Sree Chithira Tirunaal Balarama Varma. In the early 1950s, through P. T. Rajan efforts, the present panchaloha idol of Lord Iyappan was installed at Sabarimalai and a procession was taken all over Madras state. The temple consists of a sanctum sanctorum with a gold-plated roof and four golden finials at the top, two mandapams, the balikalpura which houses the altar. In 1969, the flag staff (dhwajam) was installed. The shrine of Kannimoola ganapathi prathishta is south-west to The Sreekovil of the Sannidhanam. Devotees offer part of the broken coconut (Neythenga) to the fireplace (Azhi). Ganapathi homam is the main offering. The Pathinettu thripadikal or the 18 sacred steps is the main stairway to the temple. As per the custom followed, no pilgrim without "Irumudikkettu" can ascend the 18 sacred