Kerala: Sabarimala temple opens for Mandala Pooja, annual pilgrimage season begins
By Deepu Mohan | First Published Nov 15, 2024, 4:10 PM ISTSabarimala's Lord Ayyappan Temple opens for Mandala-Makaravilakku season; new chief priests to take charge, marking the beginning of annual pilgrimage and festivities.
Pathanamthitta: The 2023 Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season to the Sabarimala temple officially began today with the opening of the temple for the Mandala season rituals. Mel Santhi (chief priest) P.N. Mahesh opened the temple doors at 4 am and lit the lamp inside the sanctum sanctorum, marking the commencement of the sacred pilgrimage season.
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The newly appointed head priests, following special training at the Thazhamon Madom, were escorted into the temple by Thanthri Kandararu Rajeevaru. They were led up the 18 sacred steps to Sannidhanam.
As part of the opening rituals, Kandararu Rajeevaru and Kandararu Brahmadathan will perform the anointing ceremony, starting with the new chief priest of Sabarimala, followed by the new Malikappuram chief priest. The new chief priest, Arunkumar Namboothiri, is scheduled to open the temple again tomorrow at 3 am for Vrishchikam 1, the first day of the month according to the Malayalam calendar.
Daily rituals will take place from tomorrow until December 26th. The Mandala Puja is set for December 26, after which the temple will close at 11 pm. The temple will reopen on December 30th at 5 pm for Makaravilakku, which will be celebrated on January 14. The pilgrimage season will conclude with the temple closing on January 20th.
Over 30,000 devotees have booked their darshan through the virtual queue system today. Pilgrims began their ascent to the Sannidhanam from Pamba around noon. Online bookings for darshan during the first week are already full, but facilities will be available for all devotees, with separate queues for women and children. For smoother crowd management, police have made special arrangements at 18 sacred steps to facilitate the passage of devotees. This year, darshan hours have been extended to 18 hours daily, compared to 16 hours last year.
Special trains for pilgrims
In light of the increased number of pilgrims, the Indian Railways has announced nine special trains for the duration of the Sabarimala pilgrimage season:
- Four special trains will operate on the Chennai-Kollam route from November 19th to January 19th.
- Two special trains will run between Kacheguda and Kottayam.
- Two more trains will operate on the Hyderabad-Kottayam route.
- One special train will run between Kollam and Secunderabad.
The pilgrimage season this year is expected to see more devotees than last year, and with the extended darshan hours and special train services, the authorities are ensuring smoother arrangements for the smooth passage of pilgrims to the revered Sabarimala temple.
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