After a break of two years, various temples in the district have made all arrangements to conduct the bali tarpan rituals during the Karkidaka Vavu that falls on Thursday.
Thousands of devotees are expected to pay obeisance to their ancestors at major temples, including the Thirumullavaram Sri Maha Vishnu Swami temple, Ashtamudi Sree Veerabhadra Swamy temple and Mundakkal Papanasini.
Considering the difficulty in conducting the ritual on the coasts of nearby districts due to severe sea surge, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has set up a huge pandal that can accommodate over 500 devotees at Thirumullavaram. This year the ritual will start at 9.10 p.m. on July 27 and end by 11 p.m. on July 28. The offering at Thirumullavaram will begin with the former Sabarimala chief priest Balamurali lighting the lamp. More than 100 volunteers will be present to help the devotees. There will be facilities to conduct ‘thilahavanam.’ Water and medical units will also operate.
The rituals will start around 3 a.m. on July 28 on the Mundakkal beach. Tantri Thadathil Madhom T.K. Chandrasekharan will be the celebrant and the rituals will be held under the supervision of priests from various temples. Gurudeva Mandiram will distribute around 25,000 tree saplings from the Forest department to devotees offering bali at Mundakkal. Provision for bathing will be arranged. Services of the police, fire and rescue services, marine enforcement and life guards will be made available. Special pujas, cultural events and a trade fair will be held on the day.
At the Ashtamudi Sree Veerabhadra Swamy temple, the rituals will start around 5 a.m. and end by 4 p.m. Astrologer and Vastu scholar tantri P.V. Vishwanathan will be the chief priest. Various pujas will be held under the supervision of 25 priests. The temple authorities have made special arrangements in two pandals that can accommodate around 500 persons at a time. Temple head priest N. Sukumaran and priest Harikumar will oversee all pujas, including thilahomam. The temple authorities have also ensured facilities for women devotees. The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation will operate additional services from 5 a.m. to the temple.
All the major locations of bali tarpan will be under the close surveillance of the district administration to ensure safety measures.
