Published Dec 27, 2023 | 1:25 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 27, 2023 | 1:27 PM
Huge crowd at Sabarimala. (Supplied)
The famed Lord Ayyappa temple is witnessing an unprecedented heavy rush on Wednesday, 27 December, morning with just hours left for the performance of the auspicious Mandala Pooja at the hill shrine.
Long queues of pilgrims carrying the sacred bundle of “irunmudikettu” on their heads and chanting “swamiye saranam Ayyappa” mantras could be seen at the Sannidhanam, the temple complex.
The sea of devotees was waiting to get a glimpse of the Mandala Pooja, which marks the culmination of the first leg of the two-month-long annual pilgrimage at the Lord Ayyappa temple.
The rituals were performed under the aegis of temple tantri (head priest), Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru, who adorned the idol with the sacred attire.
Special rituals including “kalabhanhishekam” and “kalashabhishekam” were performed during the occasion, temple authorities said.
Besides thousands of pilgrims from Kerala and beyond, who queued up for hours in and around the Sannidhanam, prominent officials of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) were also present before the sanctum sanctorum when the ceremonies were held.
A ceremonial procession carrying the sacred Thanka Anki (golden attire) of Lord Ayyappa reached the hill shrine in Sabarimala on 26 December.
According to temple management sources, the pooja would be performed after adorning the “anki” on the idol of Lord Ayyappa, the principal deity.
The poojas and rituals would be performed between 10:30 am and 11:30 am, they said.
After the Mandala Pooja, the shrine would be closed by 11 pm and would be reopened for the Makaravilakku rituals on 30 December. The Makaravilakku ritual at the Sabarimala hill shrine would be held on 15 January, Travancore Devaswom Board sources added.
The Mandala Pooja would mark the culmination of the 41-day-long first leg of the annual pilgrimage season.
The 453-sovereign Thanka Anki was offered to Lord Ayyappa by the Travancore royal family during the 1970s.
The attire is kept at the Aranmula Parthasarathy temple and is taken to the hill shrine in a decorated vehicle during the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
The procession, which had set off days ago from Sree Parthasarathy temple at Aranmula, reached the Lord Ayyappa temple amid a heavy pilgrim rush in the evening of Tuesday, 26 December.
The Sannidhanam, the temple complex, and its premises reverberated with the chanting of hymns of Lord Ayyappa, the principal deity, when the “anki” was taken out of the decorated vehicle and carried to the shrine by temple officials.
The officials of the TDB had earlier said that as many as 31,43,163 devotees visited and offered prayers at Sabarimala till 25 December during the season. The hill shrine received ₹204.30 crore as revenue in the last 39 days till 25 December, they added.
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