The annual 10-day-long festival at the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple will conclude on Monday with the ‘aarattu’ ceremony.
The ‘pallivetta’ rituals were held on the temple premises on Sunday with traditional gaiety after the evening ‘ezhunnellippu’. Peruvanam Kuttanmarar led the percussion ensemble which accompanied the ‘ezhunnellippu’.
The ‘Thanka Thidambu’ of the deity was taken out to the town in the evening in a procession called ‘gramapradakshinam’. The elephant Valiya Kesavan carried the ‘Swarna Kolam’ during the ‘gramapradakshinam’ ceremony.
The ‘Sreebhoothabali’ rituals were held following the ‘gramapradakshinam’. Later, the gold idol was kept at the ‘Swarna pazhukka mandapam’ for darsan.
During the ‘pallivetta’ or the royal hunt, which symbolises the Lord hunting the boar and catching it, people dressed as wild boars (‘pannimanushams’) were chased by the deity on an elephant. The ritual further represents the the destruction of evils like desire and anger. Scores of people gathered to witness the rituals. The ‘pallivetta’ came to an end with the completion of nine rounds of procession around the temple. Later, the ‘palliyurakkam’ (Lord’s Sleep) ritual was conducted in the specially-arranged ‘palliyara’ (Lord’s bedchamber) inside the ‘namaskara mandapam’.
On Monday, the Lord will wake up to the cry of a calf at 6 am. A calf will be arranged inside the temple compound and all usual pujas will be held except the Usha puja. Following the pujas, the ‘aarattu’ procession will begin at 6.30 am. The idol of Lord Guruvayurappan will be taken for a holy dip at Rudratheertham, where the replica of the idol will be bathed in turmeric water and tender coconut water. The idol will then be dipped in the pond water, concluding the ‘aarattu’.
After the ‘aarattu’, the idol will be taken to the temple on an elephant and the elephant would circumambulate the temple eleven times, with devotees following. Later, the deity will be taken to the sanctum sanctorum and the festival will be officially concluded with the lowering of the flag by the temple priest. The Guruvayur Devaswam authorities have made all arrangements for the ‘aarattu’ ceremony.