Sacred Journey: Thiruvabharana Procession to Sabarimala

The sacred 'thiruvabharana' ornaments will be taken from Pandalam palace to Sabarimala temple, culminating in the 'makaravilakku' festival on January 14. The Travancore Devaswom Board ensures ceremonial preparations. Crowd management strategies are implemented to handle massive pilgrim turnout during the festival days.

The sacred 'thiruvabharana' set to be offered at Ayyappa temple on 'makara sankrama' day will commence its journey from Pandalam royal palace on January 12, following traditional routes to reach Sabarimala by January 14, the auspicious 'makaravilakku' day.

Travancore Devaswom Board president P S Prashanth announced that the adornments for Lord Ayyappa will be officially welcomed by Devaswom and government officials upon reaching the temple grounds. Key rituals include the 'thiruvabharana' receiving ceremony by the temple's 'tantri' and 'melshanthi', followed by 'maha deeparadhana'. This marks the start of the 'makaravilakku' festivities, coinciding with the celestial 'makara jyoti', a spectacle for thousands of devotees.

Additionally, the festival planning is nearly finished, per TDB. Sabarimala ADM Arun S Nair outlined crowd-control measures for the days ahead, including regulated virtual queue limits and adjusted spot booking policies to facilitate pilgrim management during the heightened religious celebration.

(With inputs from agencies.)