Parading of elephants during the rush days of the Mandalam-Makaravilakku festival was not at all a necessity at Sabarimala, said Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevararu. However, the Tantri favoured parading of a single caparisoned elephant in connection with the 10-day annual festival at the Ayyappa Temple in view of the geographical constraints of Sabarimala.
Talking to The Hindu , Mr. Rajeevararu said ‘sastra’ prescribed taking the presiding deity either atop an elephant or in a decorated chariot in connection with temple festivals.
Difficulty
Considering the steep hilly tracts of Neelimala and Appachimedu, it is difficult to carry the presiding deity in a chariot between the foothills of the Pampa and the hillock of Sabarimala for the Arattu ceremony in connection with the annual festival, he said. Mr. Rajeevararu said parading of elephants at Sabarimala during the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season should be avoided in view of the heavy rush of pilgrims at the hillock during the period.
The Travancore Devasom Board (TDB) had to do away with the practice of parading a caparisoned elephant in the Vilakkinezhunnellippu procession during the Makaravilakku festival at Sabarimala in January following the killing of a woman pilgrim by the temple elephant that was brought for the festival.
Alternative
Replacing the elephant, the deity was taken out in the procession in a Jeevitha (decorated palanquin-type carriage) during the Vilakkinezhunnellippu procession this year.
The TDB is also planning to make a new Jeevitha for customary ceremonial processions at Sabarimala, replacing the temple elephants.
