Ayyappan, in Hinduism, a deity who is always celibate, generally depicted in a yogic posture, with a bell around his neck. His most prominent shrine is at Sabarimala, in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where he is most popular, though the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka also house many Ayyappan temples. Ayyappan may bear a historical relationship to the tutelary deity Aiyanar of Tamil Nadu.