President Droupadi Murmu offers prayers at Sabarimala temple; minister Vasavan accompanies her

Pathanamthitta: President Droupadi Murmu offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa at Sannidhanam on Wednesday at 11:50 a.m. She is the second Indian president to visit the shrine, after former President VV Giri, who had travelled there in the 1970s by dolly.

President Murmu arrived at Pamba in a special convoy around 11 a.m., washed her feet in the Pampa river, and offered prayers at nearby temples, including the Lord Ganapathy shrine.

At the Kettunira Mandapam, Ganapathy temple, Melshanthi Vishnu Namboothiri filled the sacred bundle, or ‘irumudikkettu’, for the President, who was dressed in a black saree. Her ADC Saurabh S. Nair, PSO Vinay Mathur, and son-in-law Ganesh Chandra Hombram also received their sacred bundles, district officials said.

Following traditional rituals, the group threw coconuts at a stone wall near the temple and, carrying the bundles on their heads, proceeded in special four-wheel drive vehicles along the 4.5-km Swami Ayyappan Road, the customary trekking route to the shrine.

At Sannidhanam, President Murmu climbed the 18 holy steps to the shrine, where she was welcomed by State Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president PS Prasanth. Temple Tantri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru received her with a poorna kumbha.

She performed darshan of Lord Ayyappa with the sacred bundle on her head, after which she and her team placed their irumudikkettu on the shrine steps for pooja by the melshanthi. The President also visited nearby temples, including Malikappuram, before returning to the TDB guesthouse for lunch and rest. Devotee darshan was restricted during her visit, TDB officials noted.

President Murmu had arrived at Pamba from Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Pramadam, where she landed by helicopter at 8.40 am. She was greeted by Vasavan, Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony, and others. The presidential convoy had departed Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram for the airport at 7.25 am.

Following her Sabarimala darshan, President Murmu is scheduled to stay for two hours in a specially arranged room in the main office complex at Sannidhanam, which has been under security control for the past two days. Her lunch will be prepared in the recently renovated kitchen, with staff from Rashtrapati Bhavan overseeing the arrangements.

The President will depart Sannidhanam at 3:10 p.m. and leave Nilakkal for Thiruvananthapuram by helicopter at 4:20 p.m.