Lord Ayyappa adorned with 'Thanka Anki' as thousands of devotees gather in Sabarimala

Sabarimala (Kerala): On the eve of Mandala pooja, a 'Deeparadhana' was held at the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple on Wednesday evening, with the presiding deity adorned in the 'Thanka Anki' (sacred golden attire), which had been brought in a procession from the Aranmula Parthasarathi Temple.

The "Thanka Anki," weighing 451 sovereigns, was offered to Lord Ayyappa at the hill shrine in 1973 by Sree Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the Maharaja of erstwhile Travancore.

Earlier, the "Thanka Anki," brought with a grand procession, was received at the Sannidhanam by Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, Devaswom Board President P S Prashanth, Devaswom Board members, and other officials.

At the temple steps, the Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, Melsanthi Arun Kumar Namboothiri, and assistant priests ceremonially received the "Thanka Anki" and carried it inside the temple. At 6.30 pm, a Maha Deeparadhana was performed.

Devotees were then given the opportunity to have darshan of Lord Ayyappa, adorned with the "Thanka Anki."

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Devaswom Minister P K Sekar Babu visited Sabarimala for darshan. Arriving at the Sannidhanam on Wednesday evening, the minister attended the Maha Deeparadhana and offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa before departing.

The "Thanka Anki" procession began from the Aranmula Parthasarathi Temple in Pathanamthitta on Sunday.

The Mandala Pooja, a key ritual marking the conclusion of the first phase of the annual pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple, will take place on Thursday.

The ritual will be performed between noon and 12.30 pm by the temple Tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru.

Following the Mandala Pooja and the "Neyyabhishekam," the portals of the Lord Ayyappa Temple will close at 11 pm on December 26, marking the end of the first phase of the annual pilgrimage.

Sabarimala will reopen on the evening of December 30 for the Makaravilakku festivities, culminating in the ritual on January 14.

As part of crowd management, virtual queue bookings have been capped at 50,000 and 60,000 for events on 25 and 26 December, respectively.

The cap aligns with a High Court directive, which mandates limiting spot bookings to 5,000 on both days.

For the Makaravilakku festivities on 13 and 14 January, virtual queue bookings have been fixed at 50,000 and 40,000, respectively.

As of December 23, a total of 30,87,049 pilgrims have visited the Lord Ayyappa Temple this season.

This marks an increase of approximately 4.46 lakh devotees compared to the previous year.