Devotees gather for 'Makara Jyothi darshan' at the Sabarimala temple, in Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
Thiruvananthapuram: Thousands of pilgrims thronged the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Kerala to witness the 'Makara Jyothi' and 'Makara Vilakku' on Tuesday.
As the 'Makara Jyothi' (star) appeared in the sky and 'Makara Vilakku' (lamp) appeared on Ponnambalmedu hills by around 6.43 pm Ayyappa chants filled the entire hill shrine area.
Many people in large groups, mostly from other states, were camping in various parts around the temple to witness the 'Makara Jyothi' and 'Makara Vilakku'.
The Ayyappa idol was adorned with 'Tiruvabharanam' (holy ornaments) brought from Pandalam palace in Pathanamthitta. Pandalam palace is believed to be the place where Ayyappa spent his childhood.
The police had made elaborate arrangements to manage the crowd and allowed only around 50,000 pilgrims through the virtual queue booking and spot booking facilities.
Around 40 lakh pilgrims visited the hill shrine during the two month-long pilgrimage which is ending with the Makaravilakku festival. It is considered to be the record number of footfalls during a pilgrimage seasons.
The arrangements for the pilgrimage were made under strict vigil of the Kerala High Court, especially in view of widespread complaints of poor crowd management during the last pilgrimage season.