This is a song of appeal to Swami Appayyan, who stays far high in mountaintops of Sabrimala, in the stretching stripes of the (once) greenish Sahyadris.

There is a slight intriguing fact to be mentioned about this temple and the deity, Ayyappan.

In Native Life in Travancore, written by Rev. Samuel Matter way back in 1883 (see page no. 200), this shrine on the mountain slope was mentioned to be the temple of the Mala Arayans. These people were not Hindus, if the Brahmin / Vedic religion is to be taken as the Hindu religion.

See this quote from the book:

QUOTE: It has been observed that in cases of sickness sometimes Arayans will make offerings to a Hindu god, and that they attend the great feasts occasionally; but in no case do they believe that they are under any obligation to do so, their own spirits being considered fully equal to the Hindu gods. END OF QUOTE.

Over the years, may be commencing from around 1930s, almost all the populations which did not come under the definition of Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Jain &c. came to be defined as Hindus. Along with this metamorphosis, all their temples and spiritual traditions and Shamanistic practises came to be identified as Hinduism.

Please note that the following is not a word-to-word translation of the song. However, an attempt to gather the total sense of the words of the (Malayalam version) song has been made. So that, even though the lines do not reflect the exact meaning of the words, they move quite near to them.

Thedivarum kannukaLil

തേടിവരുംകണ്ണുകളിൽ

Rushing to the aid of seeking eyes!

Concealed in the cascading gleam of holy lanterns തിരുവിളക്കിൻ കതിരൊളിയിൽ കുടിയിരിക്കും സാമി!!

Stirring and enlivening the faded flowers!

Living in shinning campanile shrines!!

Ayyappa Swami!!, Ayyappa Swami!!!

Treading stony hillocks and thorny mounts,

Rousing the villodichan-song-twittering pipit in my insides,

With streaming tears and empty hands

Have I reached here!

Command forever, my safety

And utter thy blessings, for me!

With awe and adoration,

I bow to you,

Ayyappa Swami!!,

My refuge! Ayyappa Swami!!!

You are Vishnu, Shiva, and also Sree Muruga!

You are also Parashakthi and Buddha!

Ayyappa Swami!!!

The ages, the creations and the logics

You are everything!!!

Command forever, my safety

And utter thy blessings, for me!

With awe and adoration,

I bow to you,

Ayyappa Swami!!,

My refuge! Ayyappa Swami!!!

Into my stretching hands

Wouldn’t you pour the teeming riches?

To my dwelling

Wouldn’t you come as my little brother എന്റെ വീട്ടിലൊരു കൊച്ചനുജനായി കൂടെവരില്ലെ?

With feverish passions

We reach your hallowed premises,

Forever be our keeper!

Ayyappa Swami!!,

Our eternal refuge, Ayyappa Swami!!!

Lyricist: Vayalar

Cinema: Swami Ayyappan (1975)