Arun Kumar Namboothiri was appointed as the new melsanthi (chief priest) of the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple during a selection process at Sannidhanam, following the Usha Pooja. Vasudevan Namboodiri has been appointed as the melsanthi for the Malikappuram Devi temple.
Pathanamthitta: The new melsanthi (chief priest) for the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple was chosen on Thursday (Oct 17) morning at Sannidhanam, following the Usha Pooja held at 8 am. Arun Kumar Namboothiri, hailing from Sakthikulangara in Kollam, has been appointed as the chief priest of Sabarimala. He previously held the position of melsanthi at Attukal from 2015 to 2017 and is currently serving as the melsanthi at Kollam Lakshmi Nada.
Vasudevan Namboothiri from Kozhikode will serve as the chief priest of the Malikappuram Devi temple. A resident of Thirumangalathu illam in Olavanna, he, along with Arun Kumar Namboothiri of Sabarimala, will hold their positions at the shrine for one year.
The selection of the head priests for both temples was conducted by Rishikesh Varma and M. Vaishnavi from the Pandalam royal family. They drew lots in the presence of TDB President P. S. Prasanth, along with members A. Ajikumar, G. Sundareshan, Devaswom Commissioner C. V. Prakash, Special Commissioner R. Jayakrishnan, High Court observer T. R. Ramachandran Nair, the temple tantri Kandaru Rajeevaru, and tantri Brahmadattan.
The draw for the new chief priests at Sabarimala took place at 7:30 AM after the Usha Pooja. There were 24 candidates in the final list for the chief priest selection at the Sabarimala temple. Rishikesh from the Pandalam royal family conducted the draw for the Sabarimala chief priest.
Following the Sabarimala selection, Vaishnavi, also from the Pandalam royal family, conducted the draw for the chief priest of the Malikappuram temple, which had 15 candidates in the final list. The Sabarimala shrine reopened yesterday for the Tulamasa poojas and will close on October 21. The new chief priests will assume their duties on November 15, marking the start of the Mandala season.
"All is the blessing of Ayyappa, and I am very happy that my long-standing desire has been fulfilled," said newly appointed Sabarimala chief priest S. Arun Kumar Namboothiri. He expressed that this is his first time appearing on the list and considers it a great blessing.
Vasudevan Namboothiri, the newly appointed chief priest of Malikappuram, shared his joy, stating that he has been applying since 2012 and is thrilled to finally be selected.