THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Navaratri procession carrying idols from Tamil Nadu reached the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple on Thursday.
The idols carried in the procession are those of Goddess Saraswati from the Thevarakkettu of the Padmanabhapuram Palace, Kumaraswami of the Velimala temple and Munnoottinanka of Sucheendram temple.
The Saraswati idol was carried atop an elephant, Kumaraswami on a silver horse and Munnoottinanka on a palanquin.
At Nemom, the Revenue Department accorded a reception to the procession. The idols were welcomed with special poojas at Avadi Amman Kovil at Karamana. The elaborate colourful procession started from Karamana at 6 pm.
The reception at Killippalam, organised with the support of the Union Ministry of Tourism, was attended by Puducherry Lieutenant Governor K Kailashnathan, Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi and Antony Raju MLA. The procession was given receptions at Aryasala, Chalai, East Fort and the Kottakkakam.
A large crowd was present when the procession reached near the Navaratri Mandapam at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple complex. Moolam Tirunal Rama Varma, head of the erstwhile Travancore royal family, received the ceremonial sword from the Kanyakumari Devaswom manager.
The function was attended by Suresh Gopi, royal family members Pooyam Thirunal Gouri Parvathi Bai, Aswathy Thirunal Gowri Lakshmi Bayi, Aditya Varma, Travancore Devaswom Board president P S Prasanth, Padmanabhaswamy Temple executive officer B Mahesh, administration committee member Karamana Jayan and manager B Sreekumar.
The idol of goddess Saraswati and the ceremonial sword were kept at the Saraswati mandapam where it will be worshipped during the festival days. The idol of Velimala Kumaraswami was kept at the Aryasala Devi temple and Munnoottinanka at Chenthitta Bhagavathy temple.
The Navaratri Trust, with the support of the Union Ministry of Culture will organise cultural events at Sree Maha Ganapathy Bhajanamadam at Valiyasala gramam on the festival days.