Pilgrim flow still strong at Sabarimala

Kalabhabhishekom ritual performed, annual season to end today

The auspicious Kalabhabhishekom, marking the culmination of the auspicious Neyyabhishekom ritual, was performed at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple on Saturday.

The chief priest (Tantri), Kandararu Maheswararu, assisted by the head priest (Melsanthi), P.N. Narayanan Namboodiri, prepared the Brahmakalasom for the auspicious Kalabhabishekom.

The Brahhmakalasapuja and Kalabhapuja were performed at the eastern Mandapam facing the sanctum sanctorum.

The Brahmakalasom, a golden urn carrying the Kalabhom, was taken out in a ceremonial procession to the sanctum sanctorum with the accompaniments of a caparisoned elephant, the sacred Marappani, and other traditional temple percussion prior to the Utchapuja.

The Tantri, chanting the sacred Moola Mantra, had performed the Kalabhabhishekom by pouring out the Kalabhom over the Ayyappa idol.

The entire atmosphere was charged with the chanting of ‘Ayyappa Saranam’ mantra by the scores of devotees thronging the temple premises.

The Kalabhom offered to the presiding deity was distributed among the devotees as prasadom. Ashtabhishekom, Udayasthamanapuja, Pushpabhishekom, and Padipuja were the other important rituals performed at the Ayyappa temple on Saturday.

As it being a custom and tradition, the representative of the Pandalam Palace, Dileep Varma, supervised the Kalabhabhishekom ritual.

P. Venugopal, Devaswom Commissioner; G. Vijayakumar, Assistant Police Special Officer, and P. Mohandas, Executive Officer, were also present.

The rush of devotees visiting Sabarimala from the neighbouring States, especially those from Tamil Nadu after the Pongal festival, in the last lap of the annual pilgrim season continued on Saturday. The queue of pilgrims waiting for holy darshan at the temple was found to have been extended even up to Saramkuthi on the traditional path before noon.

The annual pilgrim season will come to a close with the Melsanthi closing the sanctum sanctorum, singing the sacred lullaby, ‘Harivarasanam, Viswamohanam…’ after the Athazhapuja on Sunday.

Guruti ritual

The Guruti ritual to propitiate the cohorts (Bhoothagana) of the presiding deity will be held on the Malikappuram Devi temple premises after the closing of all the temples at Sabarimala on Sunday evening.

The Melsanthi will open the Ayyappa temple for a few minutes on Monday morning to facilitate the customary holy darshan exclusively for the royal representative before he returns to the Pandalam palace with the Thiruvabharanam by 7 a.m.