The ceremonial procession carrying the golden attire (thanka anki) for Lord Ayyappa set off to Sabarimala from the Sree Parthasarathy temple at Aranmula on Friday.
Hundreds of devotees thronged the temple in the morning to witness the annual procession carrying the attire in a motorised chariot modelled on a typical Kerala temple.
An Ayyappa idol, decorated with the golden attire, was kept for darshan on the temple premises till 6.50 a.m. The Melsanthi performed arati to the idol before it was taken to the chariot by Travancore Devaswom Board president A. Padmakumar and others.
The procession set off from Aranmula by 7.10 p.m. A team of the Armed Police and a TDB team headed by Devaswom Administrative Officer Ajithkumar are escorting the procession.
The procession reached the Sree Raktakanta Swami temple at Omalloor, near Pathanamthitta, in the evening.
Special box
It will reach Pampa by Monday forenoon and from there the attire will be taken in a specially designed wooden box to the holy hillock.
The Ayyappa idol will be decorated with the golden attire Anki prior to Mandalapuja between 11.04 a.m. and 11.40 a.m. on Tuesday.
The temple will be closed for two days after Athazhapuja in the evening, marking the culmination of the 41-day Mandalam pilgrimage season. The Ayyappa temple will reopen on December 30 afternoon for the Makaravilakku festival.