Waves of devotion at Sabarimala
Tens of thousands of Ayyappa devotees worshipped
Makarajyoti, the star that glowed on the eastern horizon of the
Sabarimala Sannidhanam in the evening sky, and Makaravilakku, a
Deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu, a remote hill facing the Ayyappa temple,
marking Makarasankranti on Monday.
The pilgrims from
across India flooded the sacred forests of Sabarimala to take in the
twin sights, which they believe will bring good fortune and prosperity
to them. They kept chanting “Swami Saranam, Ayyappa Saranam.”
The
Makarasankrama Puja was performed at the temple at 6.56 a.m. Tantri
(chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevararu, assisted by Melsanthi (head
priest) N. Damodaran Potti, performed the ritual.
The
ghee brought from the Kowdiar Palace and the Pattom Palace in
Thiruvananthapuram in two coconuts was poured over the Ayyappa idol
first. As is the custom, the family that ruled erstwhile Travancore had
sent the ghee by two devotees, Manikandan, 14, and Sankar, 20,
undertaking their maiden pilgrimage to Sabarimala.
The
procession carrying Thiruvabharanam, sacred jewellery of Ayyappa,
reached the Sannidhanam by 6.15 p.m. Union Minister of State for Labour
Kodikkunnil Suresh, Devaswom Minister V.S. Sivakumar, and authorities of
the Travancore Devaswom Board received the jewellery on the temple
premises. The chief priest and the head priest adorned the Ayyappa idol
with it prior to Deeparadhana at 6.32 p.m.
The
Deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu followed a few minutes later. The
Makaravilakku flickered thrice atop Ponnambalamedu, taking many pilgrims
to a state of ecstasy, breaking a brief lull after the Deeparadhana.
Regulated flow
The
police have regulated the pilgrim flow to the Sannidhanam from Monday
morning. The pilgrims were not allowed to climb the holy hills from 1
p.m.
Many pilgrims assembled at Pulmedu, Panchalimedu, Parunthumpara and Attathode to worship the Deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu.
M.P.
Govindan Nair, President of the Travancore Devaswom Board; Subhash
Vasu, Board member; K. Jayakumar, chief festival coordinator; K. Babu,
Special Commissioner appointed by the Kerala High Court; N. Vasu,
Devaswom Commissioner; K. Ravikumar, Chief Engineer; P.
Chandrashekharan, Additional Director General of Police; K.
Gopalakrishna Pillai, Police Special Officer; and K. Sankaranarayana
Pillai, Devaswom Executive Officer; were present.
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