SABARIMALA: The hill abode of Lord Ayyappa will be opened on Friday for the two-month-long Mandalam-Makaravilakku annual festival season amid the confusion over the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the review petition against its majority judgment - allowing women of all ages to enter Sabarimala - while declining to stay its earlier order. Pinning hopes on the outcome of the all-party meeting convened by the Chief Minister to hammer out a solution on the issue, tens of thousands of pilgrims, including foreigners, are expected to throng the hill shrine on the opening day of the pilgrimage season.
Melsanthi Unnikrishnan Nampoothiri will open the Sreekovil of the temple at 5 pm in the presence of Thantri Kandararu Rajivaru. In keeping with the established conventions at Sabarimala, there will be no rituals on Friday evening.
Melsanthis to take over on November 17
The new melsanthis of Sabarimala and Malikappuram temple will assume charge on Saturday by opening the Sreekovil of the temple at 4 am. The new melsanthi of Lord Ayyappa temple will open the Sreekovil at 4 am. The new melsanthis of Sabarimala and Malikappuram temple will be in charge for a period of one year.
Installation of Malikappuram melsanthi
M N Narayanan Nampoothiri will be installed as the new melsanthi of Malikappuram Devi temple in front of the temple at 7 pm on Friday.
Installation of Sabarimala melsanthi
The installation of V N Vasudevan Nampoothiri as the new Sabarimala melsanthi too will take place on Friday. Thantri Kandararu Rajivaru will perform the installation ceremony by performing ‘kalasabhishekam’ on the new melsanthi in front of the Sreekovil at 6 pm.