SABARIMALA: Pandalam palace representative Thriketta Nal Rajaraja Varma completing darshan at Sabarimala on Monday will mark the end of a well-organised and divine-filled Makaravilakku festival season. The temple will open at 5 am on Monday for Abhishekam and Nivedyam rituals. Then the Mahaganapathi homam will be held under the auspices of Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru and his son Brahmadathan.
The Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments of Lord Ayyappa) group from Pandalam will bow down to lord Ayyappa and descend the 18 holy steps with the casket. After the darshan of Pandalam palace representative Thriketta Nal Rajaraja Varma, chief priest Arun Kumar Namboothiri will smear sacred ash across the lord Ayyapa and then will put a Rudraksha pendant over the idol, to depict the transformation of the lord to asceticism. Then the shrine will be closed.
After this, the chief priest will descend the 18 holy steps and hand over the shrine keys and money box to the Pandalam royal representative. On Sunday night, Mahaguruthi pooja was held in front of the Mani Mandapam at Malikappuram in the presence of the royal representative. Then the pilgrims descended the mountain in silence. Only the royal representative is allowed to visit the temple shrine on Monday.