When gods come visiting capital city; Navaratri procession from Thuckalay Palace on 20th

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ahead of the Navaratri celebrations, the idol procession from the Padmanabhapuram Palace in Thuckalay will leave for Thiruvananthapuram on the 20th. The Navaratri celebrations will begin when the idols reach the capital on the 22nd.

The Thevarakettu Saraswati Devi idol from the Padmanabhapuram Palace, the Suchindram Devi (Munnottimanka) idol from Suchindram, and the Kumaraswamy idol and silver horse from Kumarakovil will be part of the procession.

The Munnottimanka idol procession from Suchindram will leave on the 19th and will reach Padmanabhapuram on the 20th. The procession with the Kumaraswamy idol and silver horse will leave Kumarakovil on the 20th and reach the palace premises on the same day. The idol procession will begin with the transfer of the sword of the Maharaja of Travancore, which is kept in the Uparika Malika of the Palace.

The Saraswati idol will be carried on an elephant, and the Kumaraswamy and Munnottimanka idols on a palanquin.

On the night of the 20th, the idols will be taken down to the Kuzhithurai Mahadeva temple in Tamil Nadu, where the rituals for the day will be performed. On the 21st, the state government will welcome the idols at the state border at around 12 noon. Then, the idols will be taken down to the Parassala Mahadeva temple, and worship will be performed.

Then, the idols will be taken down to the Neyyattinkara Sree Krishna Swamy temple. On the 22nd, the idols will be taken down to the Karamana Avani Amman temple at 4 pm. After the worship there, the idols will be taken down to the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple. From there, Kumaraswamy will be carried on a silver horse to the next temple.

Goddess Saraswati and the royal sword will be enshrined in the Navaratri Mandapam in front of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. The idol of Suchindram Devi will be kept at Sree Chenthitta Devi Temple, while the Kumaraswamy and Silver Horse will be in the Aryasala Devi temple until October 4.