Thousands offer prayers at Sabarimala on Makaravilakku day

PTI, Jan 14, 2025, 7:36 PM IST

PTI photo

Sabarimala: A sea of pilgrims on Tuesday braved massive rush and hours-long queues to offer prayers at the famed Lord Ayyappa shrine here on the day of ‘Makaravilakku’, which marks the culmination of the over two-month-long annual pilgrimage season.

Clad in the customary black attire and wearing bead-chain, the pilgrims, cutting across ages, waited in the high-range temple paths since morning to have a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa, the principal deity, on the auspicious day.

The humid climate and the long queues did not seem to dampen the spirit of Ayyappa devotees, who chanted the “Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa” mantra, carrying the ‘irumudi kettu’ (the traditional bundle a devotee brings to the shrine) on their heads.

In the evening, the holy jewels — ‘thiruvabharanam’- were brought to the hill shrine from the Pandalam palace, nearly 85 kilometres away, in a ceremonial procession that had begun two days ago.

Soon after the sacred jewels reached the temple, the idol of Lord Ayyappa was adorned with the holy ornaments, the ‘deeparadhana’ (aarati) was performed and the doors of the shrine were opened.

The chants of hymns and mantra intensified in the temple complex when the portals of the shrine were opened.

Pilgrims could be seen craning their necks to catch a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa adorned with the holy jewels.

The ‘Saranam Ayyappa’ chants further intensified when the ‘makara jyothi’, considered a divine light by devotees, flickered a few minutes after the ‘aarati’, across the eastern horizon above Ponnambalamedu, a remote hilltop eight kilometres from the temple complex.

A large number of devotees gathered at various nearby locations to witness the ‘makara jyothi’.

The lighting of the flame by the Kerala government, with the support of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and forest department at Ponnambalamedu, is a continuance of the practice followed by tribal families who live near the hilltop.

The state government and the TDB, the apex temple body which manages the shrine, made elaborate arrangements for crowd management and ensured the safety of devotees at the hill temple and it’s premises.