Sabarimala Temple Remains Open for Darshan Till Tomorrow
Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Sannidhanam will remain open for devotees to have darshan until tomorrow(Monday). Pilgrims will be allowed to offer prayers up to the Athazha Pooja, scheduled at 10 pm. The police have informed that pilgrims who reach Pampa by 6 pm will be permitted to proceed to the Sannidhanam for darshan.
The special darshan after adorning the temple with the sacred ornaments (Thiruvabharanam) was completed yesterday. The Thiruvabharanam was adorned during the Ucha Pooja, which was attended by the Pandalam landlord family representative, Punartham Nal Narayanan Varma. The evening Deeparadhana was also performed with the Thiruvabharanam.
The Neyyabhishekam ritual for the pilgrimage season will conclude today. Neyyabhishekam will be performed only until 10 am. After that, the sanctum sanctorum and the temple courtyard will be washed and cleaned in preparation for the Kalabhabhishekam, which will be conducted in the presence of the Pandalam family representative. Under the guidance of Thantri Kandaru Mahesh Mohanaru, Kalabha Pooja will be held, followed by Kalabhabhishekam.
Following the Deeparadhana yesterday evening, the sacred Padi Pooja was performed. Pilgrims who had completed the trek waited from 5 pm in the lower temple courtyard to witness the ritual. By 6.30 pm, the courtyard was completely crowded, leading to heavy rush to climb the holy eighteen steps after the Padi Pooja.
Darshan permission had been granted to 30,000 pilgrims through the virtual queue system and to 5,000 pilgrims through spot booking. However, a significantly larger number of devotees arrived at the temple for darshan, resulting in increased crowding.
On January 19, the Guruthi ritual will be performed in the Malikappuram area. The Mandala–Makaravilakku festival will conclude on January 20, following the darshan by the representative of the Pandalam Landlord Family.