The Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala was opened on Friday afternoon for the five-day monthly rituals in the Malayalam month of Meenom that begins on Saturday.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has appealed to devotees not to visit the hillock against the backdrop of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, around 200 pilgrims turned up for darshan on Friday, as against the usual turnout of 10,000 pilgrims. A majority was from the neighbouring States of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The police personnel deployed at Nilackal apprised the Sabarimala-bound pilgrims on the need to keep themselves away from the hillock in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak in Ranni taluk that houses the pilgrimage centre of Sabrimala. A medical team at Pampa measured the body temperature, using infrared thermometers, before they entered the trekking path.
Melsanthi (head priest) A.K. Sudheer Namboodiri opened the temple in the presence of Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Maheswararu Mohanararu and TDB Executive Officer Rajendraprasad at 5 p.m. The temple rituals will begin with Ganapati homom on Saturday morning, the first day of the Malayalam month of Meenom.
‘Only necessary rituals’
Mr. Rajendraprasad said only unavoidable rituals would be performed at the temple on all the five days. Devotees will not be able to offer Neyyabhishekom or other offerings at Sabarimala during these days.
The Appam-Aravana counters and the Neyyabhishekom ticket counters remained close at the Sannidhanam and Pampa. The Tantri said only Ushapuja, Utchapuja, Deeparadhana, and Athazhapuja would be performed at the temple.
Special rituals such as Udayasthamanapuja, Sahasrakalasapuja, Padipuja, Pushpabhishekom, and Kalabhabhishekom will not be performed during the period as per the directions of the TDB.
The Tantri too urged the Ayyappa devotees to cooperate with the temple authorities and try to postpone their pilgrimage against the backdrop of the epidemic threat. The temple will be closed after Athazhapuja on March 18 evening.
