Sabarimala temple set for Mandala Pooja; "Thanka Anki" procession reaches "Sannidhanam"

As the Mandala Pooja is just a day away in Sabarimala, a ceremonial procession carrying the sacred Thanka Anki (golden attire) of Lord Ayyappa reached the hill shrine here on Tuesday evening.

The 453-sovereign Thanka Anki was offered to Lord Ayyappa by the Travancore royal family during the 1970s.

The attire is kept at the Aranmula Parthasarathy temple and is taken to the hill shrine in a decorated vehicle during the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.

The procession, which had set off days ago from Sree Parthasarathy temple at Aranmula, reached the Lord Ayyappa temple amid heavy pilgrim rush in the evening.

The Sannidhanam, the temple complex, and its premises reverberated with the chanting of hymns of Lord Ayyappa, the principal deity, when the 'anki'' was taken out of the decorated vehicle and carried to the shrine by temple officials.

According to the Travancore Devaswom Board which manages the shrine, the idol of Lord Ayyappa, the principal deity, would be adorned with the sacred attire tomorrow for Mandala pooja. The mandala pooja would mark the culmination of the 41-day-long first leg of the annual pilgrimage season.

After the Mandala Pooja, the shrine would be closed at 11 pm tomorrow and would be reopened for the Makaravilakku rituals on December 30.

The Makaravilakku ritual at the Sabarimala hill shrine would be on January 15, TDB sources added.

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