SABARIMALA: Thousands of devotees witnessed the customary ‘Pettathullal’ offering at the Erumeli Sree Dharma Sastha temple here on Thursday. The offering marks the memory of the victory of Lord Ayyappa over demon Mahishi. The 500-member Ambalappuzha team from Erumeli Petta Sree Sastha temple, headed by Kalathil Chandrasekharan Nair, offered ‘Pettathullal’ after viewing ‘Krishnaparunthu’ on the sky above the temple at 11.30 am.
Three caparisoned elephants, including the one carrying the ‘thidambu’ of Lord Sastha, and artists playing temple percussion instruments were the special attractions. The team was given a traditional reception by Travancore Devaswom Board president A Padmakumar and members K Raghavan and K P Sankaradas in front of the Erumeli Sree Dharma Sastha temple at 1.30 pm after visiting the Erumeli Vavar mosque. The offering concluded after the team circumambulated the nalambalam of the temple at 2 pm.
Alangattu team
The ‘Pettathullal’ offering by the 300-member Alangattu team began from the Erumeli Petta Sree Sastha temple at 2 pm after witnessing a ‘star’ on the sky above the temple. The team was led by Vijayakumar and Thankappa Menon.
The team was accorded a traditional reception on arrival in front of the East Fort of the Erumeli Sree Dharma Sastha temple by the Devaswom authorities. The offering concluded with the team circumambulating the nalambalam at 4 pm.
Both the Ambalappuzha and Alangattu team will reach Sabarimala on January 14 after a four-day journey through the traditional forest route of Erumeli, Azhutha, Kallidamkunnu, Inchiparakotta, Karimala and Cheriyanavattom.
‘Sudhikriyas’ to begin today
Sabarimala : The two-day ‘sudhikriyas,’ as part of the annual Makaravilakku festival, will begin on Friday. As part of it, ‘prasadasudhikriyas’ will be performed by thantri Mahesh Mohanaru at 5 pm.The rites include ‘rakshasa homam,’ ‘vasthuhomam,’ ‘vasthubali,’ ‘rakshakalasam’ and will conclude with ‘vasthupunyaham.’ The ‘sudhikriyas’ will conclude with ‘bimbasudhikriyas,’ including ‘chathursudhi,’ ‘dhara,’ ‘panchagam’ and ‘panchagavyam,’ followed by abhishekam on the idol of Lord Ayyappa at 9 am on January 13. The annual five-day ‘kalamezhuthu’ offering will be held at the manimandapam near Malikappuram Devi temple from January 14 to 18.