THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The century-old ‘dhwajasthambham’, installed in front of Thiruvambady Sree Krishna sanctum sanctorum of the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple, will be replaced. The temple authorities have already brought a teakwood from Konni forest division nine months ago for reinstalling a new dhwajasthambam. ‘Thailadhivaasam’ (a ritual of pouring a sacred oil on the wood before the installation) was performed on Friday under the supervision of temple priest Brahmasree Tharanalloor Parameswaran Nampoothirippadu and Brahmasree Tharanalloor Satheeshan Namppothirippadu.
The Travancore royal family members including Moolam Thirunal Ramavarma, Pooyam Gowri Parvathy Bayi, Avittam Thirunal Aditya Varma, and temple executive officer V Ratheeshan took part in the ritual.
The 42-feet-long teakwood will be kept for six months before the final installation.
The devotees can contribute or offer the sacred oil on the wood. They can do their oil offering at `200 and `3,000. Nayinar Manoj, a Chennai native, contributed an amount for buying the teakwood. Sivaprasad, who owns Bhagavathy Traders at Kaithamukku, helped by giving the necessary materials free of cost. Venu Achari prepared the oil while T J Sanoj and Sivan made the new dhwajasthambham.