Mandalapuja at Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala, marking the culmination of the penance during the 41-day Mandalam season, will be held along with the Utchapuja on December 26.
The presiding deity will be decorated with the sacred golden attire, Thanka Anki, prior to the ceremonial Mandalapuja.
Chief priest (Tantri) Kandararu Mahesh Maheswararu said the rituals in connection with the Mandalapuja would begin at 10.15 a.m. on December 26. The Mandalapuja would be performed in the auspicious Muhurthom between 11.04 am and 11.40 am, he said.
Thanka Anki procession
The Thanka Anki, golden attire of the presiding deity, will be taken to Sabarimala in a ceremonial procession from Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula on December 22.
The golden attire weighing 420 sovereigns was presented to the Ayyappa Temple by the late Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma of the erstwhile Travancore royal dynasty as his offering to the presiding deity at Sabarimala in 1973. The Anki is carried to Sabarimala in a ceremonial procession for the Mandalapuja, every year, since then. According to TDB sources, the procession carrying the Thanka Anki will set off to Sabarimala from Aranmula Sree Parthasarathy Temple at 6.30 a.m. on December 22.
An Ayyappa idol decorated with the sacred attire will be kept at the Aanakkottil of Sree Parthasarathy Temple for the devotees to have darshan. The idol will be taken to Pampa in a motorised chariot resembling a typical Kerala temple.
Devotees will accord rousing receptions to the procession at different places before it reaches Pampa in the foothills of Sabarimala on December 25 forenoon via Laha, Plappally, Nilackal and Attathode.
The Ayyappa Seva Sanghom volunteers will take the sacred attire, packed in a wooden box, to the Sabarimala Sannidhanam from Pampa.
The presiding deity will be adorned with the golden attire prior to the Deeparadhana at the Ayyappa Temple in the evening and also prior to the Mandalapuja on December 26. The Ayyappa Temple will be closed after the Athazhapuja at 11 pm, marking the culmination of the 41-day Mandalam festival. The temple will be reopened on December 30 for the Makarvilakku festival that begins the next day.
