THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thousands of devotees witnessed the mahakumbhabhishekam and other rare rituals held at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple on Sunday. The pooja of the 100 golden pots for kumbhabhishekam was held near the namaskara mandapam. Temple thantri Satheesan Namboodiripad performed the abhishekam on the three thazhikakkudams on top of the sanctum sanctorum.
The installation of the new Vishvaksenan idol was another important ritual held on the day, led by Saji Namboodiripad and Padmanabhan Namboodiri. The old idol which showed signs of degeneration was replaced with the new one. It has been sculpted using kadusharkara, a concrete-like mixture prepared from nearly 48 materials, ranging from small conch shells to herbs and sand. It was crafted by Thirukoshtiyur Madhavan, a noted sculptor from Thirukoshtiyur in the Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu.
Another ritual was the ashtabandha kalasam at the Thiruvambadi Sree Krishna shrine which was led by Pradeep Naboodiripad. Mooppil Swamiyar Oravankara Achuthabharathi, erstwhile Travancore royal family’s head Moolam Thirunal Rama Varma, members Gouri Parvathi Bayi and Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi attended the rituals.
Other prominent personalities who witnessed the rituals were Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Rajasthan Minister K K Vishnoi, temple administrative committee chairman and district judge K P Anil Kumar, members Aditya Varma, A Velappan Nair, Karamana Jayan.
New idol installed
The old idol which showed signs of degeneration was replaced with a new one. It has been sculpted using kadusharkara, a concrete-like mixture prepared from nearly 48 materials, ranging from small conch shells to herbs and sand