Sabarimala temple to open tomorrow; 90,000 pilgrims allowed daily

Pathanamthitta: The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple will open on Sunday at 5 pm for the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has announced that all arrangements for the season have been completed. ED Prasad will assume charge as the Sabarimala melsanthi, while MG Manu will take charge as the Malikkappuram melsanthi on Monday.

 According to the TDB, the temple will open at 3 am on Tuesday and close at 11 pm after the Harivarasanam. The authority has capped the daily number of devotees at 90,000 to avoid overcrowding.

Key Information
Online booking has begun for major offerings such as Ganapati Homam, Ashtabhishekam, Neyyabhishekam, Uchapooja, Nithyapooja, and Pushpabhishekam. Devotees can also purchase tickets for these offerings directly at the temple.

 The online virtual queue system is live. Spot-booking counters will operate at Pampa, Nilackal, Erumely, Vandiperiyar and Chengannur.

Of the total 90,000 daily darshan slots, 70,000 will be through online booking and 20,000 through spot booking. If any online slots are cancelled, they will be automatically added to the spot-booking quota.

Special arrangements have been made for a separate queue for women and children from the Nadapanthal near the 18 holy steps, enabling faster darshan. A dedicated system has been put in place to provide food to pilgrims at the Annadana Mandapam in Malikappuram.

At Sannidhanam, a free physiotherapy centre will function round the clock under the Board’s supervision. An off-road ambulance service will operate at both Pampa and Sannidhanam.

Mandalapooja will be held on December 27. The temple, which closes at 10 pm on that day, will reopen at 5 pm on December 30. The Makaravilakku festival will be observed on January 14. From Makaravilakku day,  Ezhunnallippu ritual will be held at the Malikappuram temple every night till January 18.

The Kalabhabhishekam ritual, sponsored by the Pandalam Palace, will take place on the morning of January 18. There will be no Neyyabhishekam after this ritual. This will be followed by the Guruthi ritual on the night of January 19, after which no further rituals will be performed.The temple will close for the season on the morning of January 20, after the Palace representative performs the customary darshan.

Daily Timings at Sannidhanam

• Temple opening: 3 am
• Nirmalyam Abhishekam: 3 am to 3.30 am
• Ganapati Homam: from 3.20 am
• Neyyabhishekam: 3.30 am to 7 am
• Ushapooja: 7.30 am to 8 am
• Neyyabhishekam: 8 am to 11 am
• 25 Kalasham and Kalabham: 11.30 am to 12 noon
• Uchapooja: 12 noon
• Closing of sanctum sanctorum: 1 pm
• Reopening of sanctum sanctorum: 3 pm
• Deeparadhana: 6.30 pm to 6.45 pm
• Pushpabhishekam: 6.45 pm to 9 pm
• Athazha Pooja: 9.15 pm to 9.30 pm
• Harivarasanam: 10.45 pm
• Closing of temple: 11 pm