Tens of thousands of devotees gathered at the Ettumanoor Mahadeva Temple here on Saturday night and during the wee hours of Sunday to get a glance of the ‘Ezhara Ponnana’ darshan (eight golden statuettes of elephant).
The ritual, which is considered as the peak point of the annual festival of the temple, was held on the eighth day of the festival. The day began at the temple with a Nadaswaram recital by Thiruvizha Jayasankar early in the morning followed by Pancharimelam by Mattannur Sankarankutty Marar and team. The cultural events in the evening included a classical dance by actor Lakshmi Gopalaswamy. Following the programmes, the ceremonial procession carrying the eight golden statuettes of elephants for Darshan was held.
The first offering after the Darshan was made by the representative of Chengannoor Punnaritta Math Pandaram. The police had tightened security arrangements, anticipating a huge turnout of devotees, under the supervision of DySP Ajith. Ettumanoor unit of Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam (SNDP) and Akhila Kerala Viswakarama Mahasabha conducted processions on the eighth day of the festival.
Among the eight statuettes, seven are two ft tall and the eighth one, half the size. According to legend, these were offered to the presiding deity by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, an erstwhile ruler of the Travancore kingdom.