Mandala season pilgrimage ends at Sabarimala temple

SABARIMALA: The Mandala season pilgrimage at Sabarimala concluded on Thursday with the Mandala pooja held in an atmosphere filled with devotional chants. The idol of Lord Ayyappa was adorned with 'Thanka Anki’ (sacred golden attire), and the pooja was carried out with the traditional Mandala Puja rituals. The Mandala Pooja took place between 12:00 PM and 12:30 PM on Thursday.

The Mandala pooja was performed by Kandararu Brahmadathan, the son of the tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, along with Melshanti Arunkumar Namboothiri after adorning the idol of the deity with thanka anki. Special rituals, including kalabhabhishekam and kalasabhishekam, were held before Mandala pooja.

Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan, Sabarimala Special Commissioner R Krishnakumar, Devaswom Board President PS Prasanth, members Adv A Ajikumar, G Sundaresan, ADGP S Sreejith, ADM Arun S Nair, Sannidhanam Special Officer B Krishnakumar, and Sabarimala Executive Officer Murari Babu attended the Mandala pooja. The temple will be opened for the Makaravilakku festival on the evening of December 30 at 5 PM. The Makaravilakku will be observed on January 14, and the temple will be closed on January 20.

32.70 lakh devotees visited Sabarimala during the Mandala season
As many as 32.70 lakh devotees visited Sabarimala for darshan during the Mandala pilgrimage season. This is the figure as of yesterday evening. 32,49,756 people arrived till the 25th, i.e. an increase of 4,07,309 pilgrims compared to the previous