Pathanamthitta: Makarajyothi lit up at Ponnampalamedu, filling the eyes and hearts of lakhs of devotees. As the Makarajyoti lit up three times at Ponnambalamedu, the holy single mantra ‘Swamiye Saranmayyappa’, echoed at Sannidhanam. The devotees, who had been waiting for long hours for catching a glimpse of the Makarajyothi, descended the sacred hills after watching the divine light, with hearts full of contentment.
At 6:30 in the evening today, the Thiruvabharanam procession reached Sannidhanam. Devaswom representatives and Ayyappa Seva Sangham workers received the procession at Saramkuthi. When the casket carrying Thiruvabharanam reached Sopanam after taken through the sacred ‘Pathinettam Padi’ (the holy 18 steps at Sabarimala), Thanthri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru and Melshanthi PN Mahesh Namboothiri received it and adorned the idol of Lord Ayyappa with the Thiruvabharam. Close to 6.45 pm, the doors of the shrine were opened and the ‘deeparadhana’ (aarati) was performed.
The chants of ‘Swamiye Saranamayyappa’ and hymns started reverberating when the shrine was opened and the devotees got to have a darshan of Lord Ayyappa bejeweled in Thiruvabharanam. The chants intensified as around 6.50 pm, the Makarajyothi lit up three times at Ponnambalamedu, a remote hilltop eight kilometres from the temple complex.
10 view points were arranged for darshan of Makarajyothi. It is estimated that more than one and a half lakh devotees came to Sannidhanam to see Makarajyoti. Apart from this, tens of thousands of people saw Makarjyothi in various other places as well.
Makaravilakku mahotsavam is a very important annual festival celebrated at the Sabarimala temple. The auspicious event of Makaravilakku marks the culmination of the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage season. Thousands of devotees, braving massive queues for several hours, offered prayers at Sabarimala today, on the day of the auspicious Makaravilakku.
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