Braving the heavy rain that lashed the district in the morning hours, people in large numbers flocked to the banks of the Periyar at the Aluva Sivarathri Manalppuram on Saturday to pay obeisance to their ancestors on the occasion of Karkidaka Vavu. The rituals here got off to a start at 4.a.m on Saturday with the performance of a Ganapathi homam in the Siva temple here, also followed by a couple of other special pujas including mruthyunjayanam , thilahavana namaskaram and dhara .
Initiated by the chief priest ( melsanthi ) Mullappally Manackal Subramanian Namboodiri, the ceremonies in the temple continued up to 11.a.m and the offerings were distributed accordingly.
Assisted by around 200 priests, around 1,000 devotees in about 65 balitharas performed the rite of balitharpanam at a given point of time and took a holy dip in the Periyar. The observance of the vavu bali here has been considered as an important sacrament in bringing welfare to the living descendants. The myth behind the significance of performing the ritual here is traced down to Ramayana in which Lord Rama had performed the last rites of his friend, Jadayu.
Anticipating the heavy turnout, the Travancore Devaswom Board had made arrangements including emergency medical services. A team of TDB officials led by Administrative Officer K.C. Vinod were camping in the area to coordinate the day’s proceedings.
To handle the unprecedented rush of devotees, a contingent of 300 police personnel was pressed into service. Apart from the Fire and Rescue officials, divers were deployed at the bathing ghats. The State transport operated additional service to facilitate the conveyance of the devotees.
Meanwhile on the day, a large number of devotees performed the ritual bath at the Adwaithasramam- a spiritual institution established by Sree Narayana Guru near here, under the supervision of Jayanthan Shanti – the main celebrant.
The other major temples in the district where devotees thronged to observe vavu bali included Chelamattom Sreekrishna temple near Perumbavoor and Thirunettoor Mahadeva temple in Kochi.
