Dressed in the customary black attire and carrying the 'irumudikkettu' (sacred bundle) on their heads, pilgrims from inside and outside the state queued for hours to offer prayers to Lord Ayyappa
As the newly appointed 'melsanthi' (chief priest) E D Prasad Namboothiri, opened the temple portals, devotees chanted the hymns of Lord Ayyappa in unison
The temple was opened in the presence of 'tantri' (head priest) Kantararu Mahesh Mohanaru, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) said in a statement
From early morning itself, there was a heavy flow of pilgrims arriving for darshan, TDB officials said. When the temple opened at 3 am, long queues of devotees seeking darshan stretched across the 'nadapandal' (walkway) and 'sopanam' (sacred steps)
After the opening of the sanctum sanctorum, rituals such as Nirmalya Abhishekam, Ganapathi Homam, and Neyyabhishekam were performed. The temple will close at 1 pm, reopen again at 3 pm, and finally close for the day at 11 pm with the chanting of "harivarasanam", the lullaby of Lord Ayyappa, the TDB authorities added
ADVERTISEMENT
