Kottayam:
The mandala pooja, a key ritual marking the conclusion of the primary section of the annual pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple, will happen on December 26.
The ritual will probably be carried out between midday and 12.30 pm on the day by temple tantri (head priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President P S Prasanth mentioned in a press convention right here on Tuesday.
The ceremonial “thanka anki” procession, commenced from the Aranmula Parthasarathi Temple in Pathanamthitta on Sunday, would attain Pamba by Wednesday afternoon, he mentioned.
The procession will first be welcomed by Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan at Pamba, after which obtained by the TDB President and members on the Sannidhanam (temple advanced) within the night.
Later, the “thanka anki,” the sacred apparel, can be draped on the idol of the presiding deity earlier than the ‘aarathi.’ After the mandala pooja and the “neyyabhishekam,” the portals of the Lord Ayyappa temple can be closed by 11 pm on December 26, marking the end result of the primary leg of the annual pilgrimage, he mentioned.
The Sabarimala can be reopened on December 30 night for Makaravilakku festivities, Prashant mentioned, including, the ritual can be held on January 14.
As a part of crowd administration, the digital queue bookings have been restricted to 50,000 and 60,000 for occasions on December 25 and 26.
The cap can be in step with a excessive court docket directive, in response to which, the spot bookings have to be restricted to to five,000 on each days, the TDB president mentioned.
The variety of digital queue bookings on January 13 and 14 as a part of the Makaravilakku festivities has been mounted at 50,000 and 40,000, he mentioned.
Until December 23, a complete of 30,87,049 pilgrims have visited the Lord Ayyappa Temple in the course of the present season, the TDB president mentioned, including, near 4.46 lakh extra devotees got here this time as in comparison with the final 12 months.
Prashant mentioned that the TDB has determined to restart the “Pamba Sangamam,” a religious and cultural occasion which was stopped after the 2018 floods. It might held from January 12 subsequent 12 months.
The board has additionally determined to carry out golden lockets of Lord Ayyappa for the upcoming Makaravilakku pageant.
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