THRISSUR: Thousands thronged the Guruvayur Sree Krishna temple for darshan on the eve of Ekadasi on Sunday.
Since the annual Ekadasi festival coincides with the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, the temple used to witness huge crowd on the special occasion. However, the rush was less this time compared to the previous years. Bad weather and the post-flood scenario could be the reason, said temple authorities.
The sanctum sanctorum of the temple which was opened for darshan on Sunday will not be closed until Tuesday, except for regular poojas.
‘Maddalakeli’, ‘kuzhalpattu’ and ‘kombupattu’ will be held in the temple till 2 am on Monday, after which the Ekadasi rituals will begin.
The Guruvayur Devaswom will perform ‘udayasthamana pooja’ and other special poojas on the Ekadasi day on Monday. ‘Pancharatna keerthanalapanam’ will be performed on the day, in which thousands of singers will take part. Special ‘prasada oottu’ for the devotees will also be held.
Tribute to Guruvayur Kesavan
On the eve of Ekadasi, the elephants of Guruvayur Devaswom paid tribute to legendary Guruvayur Kesavan, which died on the Ekadasi day in 1976. The elephants took out a procession around the statue of the ‘gajarajan’ and paid floral tributes.