PATHANAMTHITTA: The hill abode of Lord Ayyappa will be opened for the Makaravilakku festival season amid the confusion over the Supreme Court's latest decision to hear the review petition on January 22. Pinning all hopes on the outcome of the all-party meeting convened by the Chief Minister to riggle out a solution on the issue of the ongoing practice of Sabarimala, the devotees are expected to throng the hill shrine on the opening day.
Temple to open at 5 pm:
Melsanthi Unnikrishnan Nampoothiri will open the Sreekovil of the temple at 5 pm in the presence of Thantri Kandararu Rajivaru. As per the ongoing practice of the temple, no rituals will be performed at the Sreekovil of the temple in the evening.
Installation ceremony of new melsanthi: The installation ceremony of V N Vasudevan Nampoothiri as the new melsanthi of Sabarimala temple will be performed on Friday. Thantri Kandararu Rajivaru will perform the installation ceremony by performing 'kalasabhishekam' on the new melsanthi in front of the Sreekovil at 6 pm. Following it, the thantri will pass on the moolamantram" of Lord Ayyappa on the ears of the melsanthi.
Installation ceremony of Malikappuram new melsanthi: The installation ceremony of M N Narayanan Nampoothiri as the new melsanthi of Malikappuram Devi temple will be held at 7 pm on Friday.
The new melsanthi's of Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples will take charge for a period of one year on the first day of the annual pilgrimage season by opening the Sreekovil at 4 am on November 17.