Continuing a centuries-old tradition, the Arat procession was taken out as part of the Alpasi festival of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple on Saturday.
A large number of people braved a downpour as they waited on either sides of the West Fort – Shanghumughom road to witness the procession led by the present head of the royal family of erstwhile Travancore Moolam Tirunal Rama Varma, who wore the traditional green cap and carried the ‘udavaal’ (ceremonial sword).
The procession witnessed flags and other symbols of erstwhile Travancore being carried by its participants. Elephants that bore the ceremonial drums were taken ahead of the procession. They were followed by the Mounted police and other senior police officers, including Deputy Commissioner of Police G. Jaidev and Assistant Commissioner (Fort) J.K. Dinil, who coordinated the security arrangements.
The leader of the procession was accompanied by the other male members of the family as well as priests, who carried the idols of Sree Padmanabhaswamy, Narasimhamoorthy and Thiruvambadi Krishna in Garuda Vahanas. Special pujas were performed at various points as the procession progressed.
The procession then moved through the runway of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport under tight security. Flight operations at the airport were suspended from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Following special pujas that were conducted at the Arat Mandapam on the Shanghumughom beach, the idols were immersed in the sea as part of the rituals. Later, the procession returned to the temple through the same route in the night to the accompaniment of people bearing ‘theevetti’ (traditional fire lamps). Deeparadhana was performed after the idols were taken into the temple, following which the ceremonial flag of the festival was lowered to mark the culmination of the 10-day festival.
