President Droupadi Murmu created history of sorts when she visited the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala in Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district. No head of state, not even KR Narayanan—the first president from Kerala—had ever set foot on the sacred hill. Her visit was not an official duty but a deeply personal pilgrimage.

She climbed the steep, sacred 18 steps carrying the traditional offerings to Lord Ayyappa on her head, just as every devotee is expected to do. While the media rightly hailed her devotion, much was also made of her tribal identity. Ironically, few realised that many scholars believe the Sabarimala temple itself may have tribal or Buddhist origins.

The deity’s meditative posture and the devotees’ chant of........

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