Sabarimala Devotees Brave Heavy Rains to Offer Prayers

Braving inclement weather conditions and COVID situation, hundreds of devotees on Tuesday trekked the holy Sabarimala to offer prayers at the famed Lord Ayyappa Temple here, marking the beginning of the two-month-long annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season. As ‘melsanthi’ (chief priest) N Parameswaran Namboothiri lit the traditional lamp in the sanctum sanctorum after opening the temple portals early this morning, the devotees were allowed to trek the hills from the foothills.

Like the previous year, the devotees were being permitted through a virtual queue system this time also as part of efforts to regulate the flow of pilgrims in view of the pandemic and heavy rains.

Though the “Sannidhanam”, the temple complex used to witness a sea of devotees on the first day of the Malayalam month of Vrichikam, comparatively less number of devotees could be spotted this morning. Authorities have decided to limit the number of pilgrims to the hill-top shrine in the next three or four days due to heavy rains.

The ‘pampa snanam”, the ritualistic bathing in the river Pampa also would not be allowed this year as its water levels were dangerously high, temple authorities added. The sanctum sanctorum of the temple was opened on Monday evening in the presence of Tantri (head priest) Kandararu Mahesh Mohanararu by outgoing priest V K Jayaraj Potti.