PATHANAMTHITTA: President Droupadi Murmu visited the Sabarimala temple on Wednesday, becoming the first woman President to offer prayers at the hill shrine.
The President, who observed the traditional customs associated with the pilgrimage, performed the kettunira ritual at Pampa before proceeding to Sannidhanam for darshan.
The special helicopter carrying Murmu touched down at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium ground in Pramadom around 8.40am.
She was accorded a warm reception by Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, Pathanamthitta MP Anto Antony, MLAs K U Jenish Kumar (Konni) and Pramod Narayan (Ranni), District Collector S Prem Krishnan and District Police Chief R Anand. From there, she travelled to Pampa in a specially-arranged motorcade.
At Pampa, the President began her pilgrimage by symbolically washing her feet in the river — a purification ritual that Ayyappa devotees undertake.
She then proceeded to the nearby Ganapathi temple, where the Irumudikettu – the twin sacred bundle carried by devotees – was prepared and tied for her under the supervision of melsanthi Vishnu Namboothiri.
Her Aide-de-Camp Saurabh S Nair, personal security officer Vinay Mathur and son-in-law Ganesh Chandra Hombrom also participated in the ritual, following the same procedure that is observed by pilgrims before their ascent to Sannidhanam.
Prez accorded ceremonial reception at Sannidhanam
Carrying the symbolic Irumudi, Murmu then travelled in a special convoy to Sannidhanam. There, she was accorded a ceremonial reception with purna kumbham by thantri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru in the presence of Vasavan.
Murmu reached Sabarimala around 11.45 a.m. and, adhering to the age-old practice, climbed the 18 sacred steps to reach the sanctum sanctorum. She offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa and the sub-deities, before visiting the Malikappuram Devi temple and the Vavar Swami shrine.
Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president P S Prasanth, devaswom secretary M G Rajamanickam and Sabarimala melsanthi S Arunkumar Namboothiri were among those who received Murmu at the shrine.
After darshan, Vasavan gifted the President a wooden carving of Lord Ayyappa on behalf of the TDB in the presence of members A Ajikumar and P D Santhosh Kumar. The President had lunch and rested briefly at the Devaswom Guest House before beginning her return journey. Around 12.15pm, her convoy left Sannidhanam for Pampa. Around 4.15pm, Murmu departed for Thiruvananthapuram from the Pramadom helipad.
There was tight security at the hill shrine and its surroundings with the movement of pilgrims temporarily restricted beyond the Nilakkal base camp.
