Pilgrims to Sabarimala temple brave heat and dust

Sabarimala Ayyappa temple to be closed on Wednesday

The procession carrying Brahmakalasom for the Sahasrakalashabhishekom held at the Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala on Tuesday.

The Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala witnessed heavy rush on Tuesday as hundreds of pilgrims from different parts of the State and from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka undertook the pilgrimage to the temple braving the summer heat and dust.

The head priest (Melsanthi), P.N. Narayanan Namboodiri, opened the temple at 5 a.m. and the daily rituals began with the Tantri, Kandararu Maheswararu, performing the Ashtadravya Maha Ganapati homom followed by Ashtabhishekom in the morning.

The Tantri, assisted by Melsanthi, performed the Brahmakalasapuja and Kalabhapuja at the Namaskara Mandapam of the temple. Udayasthamanapuja, Pushpabhishekom, and Padipuja were the other important rituals performed at the temple on Tuesday.

The temple will be closed after the Athazhapuja, marking the culmination of the five-day monthly rituals in the Malayalam month of Meenom on Wednesday evening.