அய்யா வைகுண்டர் அடைந்த இன்னல்களும், சீர்திருத்தப் பணிகளும் / Ayya Vaikundar's Tribulations and Reforms

Kanyakumari district, the southernmost part of India, was under the rule of Travancore. The rulers of the country at that time divided the people into two sections, the upper caste people and the lower caste people and persecuted the lower caste people. The lower castes were affected by the atrocities such as untouchability, denial of entry to the temple, tax evasion, riot, slavery, and servitude. One of those who fought for them at the time was Ayya Vaikundar, who was imprisoned and tortured. He was made to drink poisoned milk, sealed in an airtight room, put into the fire, suffering from stuffing roasted pepper in the water and fire and caged with the tiger. Thus, the king of Travancore inflicted many hardships to Ayya Vaikundar. He also made many reforms for the people. Together with his disciples he broke the untouchability of eating at the house of the carpenter. He set up places of worship called Patis for the worship of the lower caste people. He created light worship as an alternative to idolatry. He created great morale among the people about their rights. He gave the right to make turbans tax free to the lower castes. Thus the devotees who worship him wear turbans. He installed shadow buffers (Nilal Thangal) to educate the lower castes. Vaikuntha died of natural causes in 1851 after suffering many hardships from the upper castes. He worked for the welfare of the lower caste people till his last breath. Even today people worship him as an incarnation of Lord Tirumal