‘Thanka Anki', the golden attire of the presiding deity at Lord Ayyappa Temple, was brought to Sabarimala Sannidhanam in a procession on Sunday afternoon.
The motorised chariot carrying the attire from Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula reached Pampa around 11.30 a.m. Devotees accorded a rousing reception to the procession when the chariot reached the Pampa.
Hundreds of white-clad Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom (ABASS) volunteers received the Ayyappa idol, decorated with the golden attire, and took it to the Pampa Ganapati Temple premises where it was kept for a few hours for the devotees to have ‘darshan.' The head priest at Pampa Ganapati Temple offered ‘aarati' to the idol.
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The golden attire was then placed in a wooden box and ABASS volunteers carried it in a ceremonial procession to Sabarimala, by 3 p.m. The ‘Thanka Anki' procession reached Saramkuthi by 5.30 p.m. and from there, the box was carried by a specially deputed Travancore Devaswom Board team to the Sannidhanam.
Devaswom Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran, TDB president M. Rajagopalan Nair, Special Commissioner appointed by Kerala High Court M. Rajendran Nair, Devaswom Commissioner N. Vasu and Sabarimala Executive Officer V.S. Jayakumar, were present at the temple precincts to receive the attire.
Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, assisted by Melsanthi Ezhikode Sasi Namboodiri, took the attire to the sanctum sanctorum for decorating the presiding deity with it prior to the ‘deeparadhana,' which was held at 6.30 p.m. Hundreds of devotees witnessed the auspicious ‘deeparadhana' performed inside the sanctum sanctorum with the deity adorned with ‘Thanka Anki'.
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Thousands of devotees are camping at the Sannidhanam to witness the Mandalapuja to be held at the Ayyappa Temple on Monday. The presiding deity will be adorned with the ‘Thanka Anki' prior to the Mandalapuja to be performed at 12.30 pm on Monday. The Tantri, assisted by the Melsanthi, will perform the Mandalapuja and Kalabhabhishehom at the Ayyappa shrine, marking the culmination of the Neyyabhishekom ritual during the 41-day Mandalam festival.
Temple to be closed
The Ayyappa Temple will be closed after the Athazhapuja, later in the evening, marking the culmination of the 41-day Mandalam festival. The temple will reopen on Thursday afternoon for the Makaravilakku festival.
The Makaravilakku day falls on January 14 and the temple will be closed after the exclusive darshan at the temple by the representative of Pandalam Palace, on January 20 morning, bringing the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage to a close.