Sabarimala mandala pooja on Dec 27; Only 37,000 devotees to be allowed

Pathanamthitta: With a heavy rush of pilgrims expected at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple as the Mandala pilgrimage season draws to a close, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has decided to cap the number of devotees allowed at the shrine on December 26 and 27.

On December 26, only 30,000 pilgrims will be permitted through the virtual queue system, while 2,000 will be allowed via spot booking.

The Mandala pooja will be held on December 27. On that day, 35,000 devotees will be able to book darshan through the virtual queue, with spot booking capped at 2,000, taking the total to 37,000 pilgrims.

On December 26, a procession carrying the Thanka Anki (golden attire of Lord Ayyappa), which set off from Sree Parathasarathy temple at Aranmula on Tuesday, will reach the temple by noon as part of the preparations for the Makaravilakku festival. In view of this, the entry of pilgrims will be restricted at Pampa during the procession. Devotees will be allowed to trek to the hill shrine only after the procession reaches Sannidhanam.

The procession is scheduled to reach the sannidhanam (temple complex) on December 26, ahead of the evening deeparadhana. The temple tantri (head priest) and melsanthi (chief priest) will jointly receive the golden attire and adorn it on the idol of Ayyappa in the evening.

The 'mandala puja' with the deity adorned in the 'anki', will be performed on the afternoon of December 27, TDB officials said.

The puja marks the culmination of the first leg of the nearly two-month-long annual pilgrimage season.

With the Mandala season nearing its conclusion, pilgrim footfall has been rising steadily. On Monday, over one lakh pilgrims visited the shrine. According to the latest figures, around 80,000 devotees had darshan at the temple by Tuesday evening.

The Makaravilakku festival will be held on January 14.