The ceremonial procession carrying ‘Thanka Anki’, the sacred golden attire to be adorned on Lord Ayyappa during the auspicious Mandala puja, reached Sabarimala temple on Friday evening.
As COVID-19 protocols were in place, only a few people, instead of the hundreds of ardent devotees usually seen, could accompany the annual procession.
The procession had set off four days ago from Aranmula Sree Parthasarthy temple, one of the state’s prominent shrines dedicated to Lord Krishna, where the sacred attire is kept.
Donated by erstwhile Travancore king, late Sree Chithira Tirunal Balarama Varma, the ‘Anki’ is the sacred gold attire worn by Lord Ayyappa during the Mandala Pooja.
The royal head had offered the ‘Anki’, weighing 420 sovereigns, to the Sabarimala deity in 1973, according to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the apex temple body which manages the shrine.
Ahead of every Mandala Pooja, the ‘Thanka Anki’ is taken from Aranmula to Sabarimala in a ceremonial procession.
The motorised chariot, carrying the sanctified ‘Thanka Anki’, is given a rousing reception with pilgrims gathering in huge numbers at various points of its transit, TDB sources added.
After reaching Pampa, the base camp, in the afternoon, the procession carrying the sacred attire proceeded to the Sannidhanam, the temple complex, located atop the holy hill.
Tight security arrangements were put in place throughout the trekking path, from the base camp to the temple complex, for the smooth conduct of the procession.
In the wake of the COVID spread, authorities had put restrictions in the number of people accompanying the procession.
The usual receptions accorded to it in various places since it began from Aranmula Temple, was limited at scheduled centres only this time, TDB officials said.
Lord Ayyappa would adorn the sacred attire for the auspicious ‘Mandala pooja’ on Saturday, which would mark the culmination of the 41-day pilgrimage season, the first phase of the annual festivities.
The temple will remain closed after the Mandala puja on December 26 and reopen for the Makaravilakku puja on December 31.
Meanwhile, devotees planning to visit the hill shrine of Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala of Kerala’s Pathanamthitta district will have to carry a certificate declaring them free of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the temple, has said. The decision was taken in the backdrop of a recent directive by Kerala High Court, which has raised the number of pilgrims permissible daily to 5,000 from 2,000.
TDB president N Vasu said the Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test certificate, taken not more than 48 hours before their visit to the temple, is must for pilgrims from Saturday, December 26.
“In view of the Makaravilakku festival season from December 31 to January 19, 2021, devotees who do not have an RT-PCR-negative certificate will not be allowed to climb the hill,” the board president has said.
The temple would be closed on January 20 after the Makaravilakku ritual on January 14, marking the end of the season. It is the first annual pilgrimage season at the hill temple after the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.