Mandala Pooja held at Sabarimala shrine

Thousands of devotees thronged Sannidhanam, the abode of Lord Ayyappa at Kerala’s Sabarimala, on Monday to witness the special Mandala Pooja, marking the conclusion of the 41-day pilgrimage season that started on November 17. The sanctum sanctorum of the Lord Ayyappa temple, closed on Monday night for the season, would reopen on Thursday.

The Mandala Pooja was held in the sanctum sanctorum between 12.00 noon and 12.30 pm Monday after Kalabha Pooja (sandal paste anointment) and Kalasa Pooja. The sanctum sanctorum, closed after the nightly rituals on Monday, would reopen for the Makaravilakku season on Thursday evening. The Makara Samkrama Pooja and Makara Jyothi darshan are on January 14.

The special poojas on Monday were held at the sanctum sanctorum with the idol of Lord Ayyappa decked in Thanka Anki, the golden attire of the lord, brought from the Sree Parthasarathi temple at Aranmula in a vehicular procession the other day. The annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season would come to an end with the closure of the shrine on January 15.

The 41-day Mandalam pilgrimage season this year had been trouble-free by and large, according to officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board, the body in charge of the administration of the temple, and devotees. The beginning of the season had seen some problems as the police had struggled hard to control the unprecedented rush of devotees.