Thousands witness Makara Jyothi at Sabarimala

SABARIMALA: Thousands of Lord Ayyappa devotees witnessed the auspicious 'Makara Jyothi', the divine flame sighted atop Ponnambalamedu, the hill facing the shrine, as part of the annual festivities. The Sannidanam reverberated with Lord Ayyappa hymns as the portals of the sanctum sanctorum were thrown open for the special 'deeparadhana' in the evening with the deity adorned with holy jewels 'thiruvabharanam'. 'Makarajyothi' was sighted a few minutes following the 'deeparadhana'. Ten centres were allotted for witnessing the 'makaravilakku'.

The casket carrying 'thiruvabharanam' were received by Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan, Travancore Devaswom Board President PS Prasanth, members Adv A Ajikumar and G Sundaresan. The casket brought in front of the shrine was received by Thanthri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru and Melshanti PN Mahesh Namboothiri and brought to the shrine. Pilgrims queued up for hours to have a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa, carrying the 'irumudi kettu' over their heads.