The Sabarimala Temple in Kerala has opened its doors to devotees during the two-month Mandala-Makaravillakku season. The doors of the sanctum sanctorum were opened by melshanti (chief priest) AK Sudheer Namboothiri on Sunday. He lit the lamps at 5 o’clock in the afternoon in the presence of the tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru. However, no special bids were made.
Sabarimala’s new chief priest, VK Jayaraj Potti, and Malikkapuram’s chief priest, MN Raj Kumar, also climbed the sacred 18 steps of the temple dedicated to Lord Ayyappa to offer prayers. Devotees can enter the temple from Monday.
Pilgrims had to book tickets to visit the temple through the virtual queue system. Only 1,000 devotees can offer daily prayers. The Travancore Devaswom Board had previously announced that the number of pilgrims would be increased to 5,000 Mandavilakku and Makaravilakku days.
The board limited the number of pilgrims to 1,000 per day for the first few days. On weekends, 2,000 people will be allowed into the sanctuary on the hill. “In the days of Sabarimala Mandavilakku and Makaravilakku, the number of pilgrims will increase to 5,000,” the board had said.
Pilgrims must adhere to strict COVID-19
protocols during the visit to the temple. They are required to carry coronavirus negative certificates taken 24 hours before arriving at the Nilackkal and Pamba base camps, where COVID-19 Kiosks have been set up for testing. They will not be allowed to stay on the temple premises.
The Sabarimala hill sanctuary was closed on October 21, following the completion of five-day monthly pujas. The doors of the temple were closed after deeparadhana, padi pooja, athazha pooja and harivarasanam. In view of COVID-19 In this situation, only 250 devotees were allowed to offer prayers during the five days.
Mandala puja celebrations begin on the first day of the Malayalam month of Vrishchikam (November or December) and conclude on the eleventh day of Dhanu (December-January).
Devotees should practice austerity during the Mandala-Makaravillakku season, especially those who make a pilgrimage to the Sabarimala shrine in Mandala Puja. The Mandal Puja celebrations go on for 41 days.
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