Sabarimala opens for devotees ahead of Global Ayyappa Summit

Sabarimala: The Sabarimala temple opened on Tuesday evening for the five-day Kannimasa pujas, drawing thousands of Ayyappa devotees.

Melshanthi Arunkumar Namboothiri lit the ceremonial lamp at 5 pm in the presence of Tanthri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanraru. This was the first opening of the shrine since the removal of the gold-plated layer of the temple’s dwarapalakas.

As part of the rituals, fire was offered into the aazhi below the pathinettam padi (18 holy steps). The temple will open for darshan at 5 am on Wednesday, the first day of the Malayalam month Kanni, and will close at 10 pm on September 21 after the pujas are completed. Devotees are required to book in advance through the virtual queue system at www.sabarimalaonline.org.

A Global Ayyappa Summit will be held at Pamba on September 20. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is scheduled to inaugurate the gathering at 10.30 am. More than 3,000 devotees from around the world are expected to take part.