SABARIMALA: The hill shrine in Sabarimala was opened on Wednesday for the five-day monthly pooja in connection with the Malayalam month of Thulam.
Melsanthi Mahesh Namboothiri opened the sreekovil at 5 pm in the presence of thantri Kandararu Rajivaru and Kandararu Brahmadathan.
No rituals were performed at the sreekovil in the evening as part of the ongoing practice of the temple.
The selection of new melsanthis for Lord Ayyappa and Malikappuram Devi temples will be held at Sannidhanam after usha pooja at 8 am on Thursday.
The new melsanthi of the Lord Ayyappa temple will be chosen from a list of 25 candidates and for the Malikappuram temple, from a list of 15.
Travancore Devaswom Board president P S Prasanth, members G Sundaresan and A Ajikumar and devaswom commissioner Prakash will be present on the occasion.
The selected melsanthis of both temples will take charge on November 16, the first day of the 2024-25 pilgrimage season, for a one-year term.