Thousands witness Mandala pooja at Sabarimala

Sabarimala (Ker): Thousands of pilgrims on Wednesday offered prayers at the famed Lord Ayyappa temple here as the auspicious Mandala pooja was performed at the hill shrine in the afternoon, marking the culmination of the 41-day-long first leg of the annual pilgrimage season.

The mandala pooja was performed after adorning the idol of Lord Ayyappa, the principal deity with "thanka anki", the sacred golden attire brought to the Sannidhanam (temple complex) in a ceremonial procession on Tuesday evening.

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 and outside Kerala, who queued up for hours in and around the Sannidhanam, prominent officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) were also present before the sanctum sanctorum when the ceremonies were held.

The temple was closed soon after the Mandala pooja and will be reopened in the evening for devotees to offer prayers before closing in the night. The shrine will be closed for three days and will be reopened on December 30 for 'Makaravilakku' rituals.

The Makaravilakku ritual will be held at the hill shrine on January 15 marking the culmination of the two-month-long annual pilgrimage, TDB sources added.

The officials of the TDB, the apex temple body which manages the shrine, had earlier said that as many as 31,43,163 devotees visited and offered prayers at Sabarimala till December 25 during the season.

The hill shrine received Rs 204.30 crore as revenue in the last 39 days till December 25, they added.