The Makaravilakku festival of Sabarimala Ayyappa temple falls on Saturday.
As part of the Makaravilakku rituals, the procession carrying Tiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments) started from Pandalam on Thursday. It will reach the hill shrine by Saturday and the Ayyappa idol will be adorned with the ornaments during the Makaravilakku ritual.
The maximum number of pilgrims allowed on the day has been limited to 90,000 so as to manage the crowd. Entry is allowed only through the virtual queue system.
Meanwhile, sale of cardamom-less Aravana (sweet prasadam) began from Thursday morning. The distribution of Aravana was stopped on Wednesday afternoon following a High Court directive as pesticide presence was found in the cardamom used for the preparation.
Published 12 January 2023, 17:27 IST