Ayyanar is believed to be a savior who carries bow and arrows and comes riding on elephant or horse to save his devotees. His name, shape as well as stories related to him are different in different places. However, Ayyanar has his ancient Dravidian characteristics wherever he is. In some places, he is seen as Sastha, the synonym of Buddha. The Sinhala Buddhists of Sri Lanka worship Ayyanar in the form of Ayyanayake, a folk deity. In Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Ayyanar is considered as the Tamil adaptation of Aiyan who was the chief deity of Ay chieftains who ruled over these places. The first references to Ayyanar were discovered from the stones of the Nayaks from Arcot in Tamil Nadu. Anyway, Ayyanar Temples can be seen in most of the isolated places in almost all of the Tamil villages. Horses are mandatory in each Ayyanar Temple in the villages. Carvings of big horses are erected as mounts and huge images of Ayyanar carved on top of the horses. These temples are commonly known as Ayyanar Horse Temples.
Ayyanar Horse Temple
