The ceremonial procession carrying the sacred golden attire, ‘Thanka Anki’, for the ‘Mandalapuja’ at Sabarimala set off from the Sree Parthasarathy Temple on the banks of the Pampa at Aranmula on December 23 morning.
Hundreds of devotees, including women and children, thronged the Parthasarathy Temple early in the morning to witness the ceremonial start of the annual procession carrying the golden attire in a motorised chariot modelled on a typical Kerala temple.
Kept for darshan
The golden attire was taken out of the devaswom strongroom at Aranmula at 4 a.m. An Ayyappa idol adorned with the ‘Thanka Anki’ was kept at the ‘Aanakkottil’ of the Parthasarathy Temple from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. for the devotees to have holy darshan.
The ‘Melsanthi’ performed ‘aarati’ to the Ayyappa idol before it was taken to the motorised chariot parked on the Temple Road.
The chariot was rolled out of the Temple Road amid loud chants of `Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa’ by 7.15 a.m. in an atmosphere charged with devotion.
Devaswom Assistant Commissioner S. Ajithkumar and a 25-member Armed Police team are escorting the procession to Sabarimala.
Travancore Devaswom Board president N. Vasu, board member K.N. Hari, former TDB president A. Padmakumar were among those who turned up to witness the ceremonial procession.
Golden attire
The ‘Thanka Anki’, weighing 420 sovereigns, was offered to the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple by the late Chithira Tirunaal Balarama Varma of the erstwhile Travancore royal kingdom in 1973.
The procession will be accorded rousing receptions at different points en route before it reaches Pampa on Thursday forenoon.
The presiding deity will be decorated with the golden attire prior to the ‘deeparadhana’ to be held at the Ayyappa Temple on Thursday evening.
The deity will be adorned with the ‘Anki’ prior to the ‘Mandalapuja’ to be performed between 10 a.m. and 10.40 a.m. on Friday.
The Ayyappa Temple will be closed for two days after the ‘Athazha puja’ later in the evening, marking the culmination of the 41-day ‘Mandalam’ festival.
The temple will be reopened on December 30 afternoon for the ‘Makarvilakku’ festival that begins the next day.
