SABARIMALA: The hill abode of Lord Ayyappa here is all set for the Makaravilakku ceremony, the most auspicious ritual of the annual pilgrimage season, to be held after adorning the idol with the Thiruvabharanam -- the sacred gold ornaments brought from the Pandalam Valiyakoickal Sree Dharma Sas tha temple on Thursday.
Thantri Kandararu Rajivaru will perform the deeparadhana in the presence of melsanthi Jayaraj Potti at 6.40pm. After the deeparadhana, a star will be visible to the east of the temple, marking the auspicious time of the sun moving from ‘dakshinayanam’ to ‘utharanayanam’.
Before that, the Thiruvabharanam procession will be given a traditional reception at Saramkuthi at 5.30pm by a devaswom team led by Sabarimala devaswom administrative officer Rajendran Nair. The team carrying the Thiruvabharanam will be led in a procession to the Sannidhanam accompanied by artists playing temple percussion instruments. The Travancore Devaswom Board president and members will receive the procession in front of golden flag mast of the temple.
Malikappuram procession
The annual five-day customary procession carrying the ‘Thidambu’, the Sreebali idol, of Malikappuram Devi will be taken out from the Malikappuram temple to Lower Thirumuttom near Holy Steps after the deeparadhana at the Lord Ayyappa and Malikappuram Devi temples at 7.30pm.
Sudhikriyas conclude
The two-day sudhikriyas (purification rites) concluded on Wednesday at the Lord Ayyappa temple ahead of the Makaravilakku ceremony. The two-day purification ceremony, including idol purification rites, was performed by thantri Rajivaru in the presence of melsanthi Jayaraj Potti.
Padi pooja from Jan 16 to 18
The Padi pooja ritual will be performed at the Ayyappa temple for three days from January 16. The hour-long ritual will be performed by thantri Rajivaru in the presence of melsanthi Jayaraj Potti at 7pm