Sabarimala gears up for Mandala Pooja on December 26

Kottayam: The Mandala Pooja, a key ritual marking the end of the first phase of the annual pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple, will take place on December 26. This special ceremony will be performed by the temple’s head priest, Kandararu Rajeevaru, between 12:00 pm and 12:30 pm.

The ‘Thanka Anki’ procession, which began at the Aranmula Parthasarathi Temple in Pathanamthitta on Sunday, will arrive at Pamba by Wednesday afternoon. The procession will be welcomed by Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan at Pamba, followed by a reception from the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President P S Prasanth and other members at the Sannidhanam (temple complex) in the evening.

During the evening ceremony, the sacred ‘Thanka Anki’ attire will be draped on the idol of Lord Ayyappa, followed by the ‘Aarathi’ ritual. This marks an important moment in the pilgrimage.

Following the Mandala Pooja and the ‘Neyyabhishekam’ (ghee offering), the doors of the Lord Ayyappa Temple will be closed at 11 pm on December 26, officially concluding the first phase of the pilgrimage.

Sabarimala Temple to reopen for Makaravilakku celebrations

The Sabarimala Temple will reopen on the evening of December 30 for the Makaravilakku festivities. The main ritual for Makaravilakku will be held on 14 January 2024, as confirmed by TDB President P S Prasanth.

To manage the large crowds, virtual queue bookings for December 25 and 26 have been capped at 50,000 and 60,000, respectively. This limit is in accordance with a directive from the High Court. Additionally, spot bookings will be limited to 5,000 for each of these days. For the Makaravilakku celebrations on January 13 and 14, the virtual queue limits have been set at 50,000 and 40,000, respectively.

Increased pilgrim visits this year

As of December 23, a total of 30,87,049 pilgrims have visited the Lord Ayyappa Temple during the current season. This represents an increase of nearly 4.46 lakh devotees compared to the previous year.

The TDB has also decided to revive the ‘Pamba Sangamam,’ a spiritual and cultural event that was halted after the 2018 floods. The event will take place from 12 January 2024.

In celebration of the Makaravilakku festival, the TDB will introduce golden lockets of Lord Ayyappa, which will be available during the upcoming festivities.

Agency