Mandalapuja was performed with ritualistic fervour at the Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala on Thursday. The temple was closed in the evening, marking the culmination of the 41-day Mandalam pilgrimage season.
The Neyyabhishekom offering to the deity was stopped by 11 a.m. The Fire and Rescue Services personnel and the devaswom guards thoroughly washed the temple premises and the 18 steps in the forenoon.
Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevararu, assisted by Melsanthi (head priest) V.N. Vasudevan Namboodiri, performed the Brahmakalasapuja and the golden urn carrying the Brahmakalasom was taken out in a procession to the sanctum sanctorum.
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Mandalapuja
The deity was adorned with the Thanka Anki, the 420-sovereign golden attire, offered by the late Chithira Tirunal, former ruler of the erstwhile kingdom of Travancore, prior to the Mandalapuja.
The Tantri performed the Brahmakalasabhishekom and the Mandalapuja in the muhurthom between 12 noon and 12.15 p.m. The atmosphere was charged with devotion and chanting of ‘Swamiyei Saranam Ayyappa’ rent the air.
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Kadakampally Surendran, Devaswom Minister; A. Padmakumar, Travancore Devaswom Board president; K.P. Sankaradas, N.Vijayakumar, board members; and Prayar Gopalakrishnan, former TDB chief, also attended the ceremony.
Makaravilakku
The Ayyappa temple will reopen on December 30 afternoon for the Makaravilakku festival. The Petta-thullal at Erumely will be held on January 11 and the Thiruvabharanam procession will set off from Pandalam on January 12.
The Makaravilakku will be celebrated on January 14.
The Guruti ritual to propitiate the cohorts (Bhoothagana) of Ayyappa will be performed at Malikappuram on January 19 night and the temple will be closed after the customary special darshan, exclusively for the royal representative, on January 20 morning, marking the culmination of the annual Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.