Snake sneaks into sacred bundle of Ayyappa devotee in Kerala’s Sabarimala

A non-venomous snake, which slithered into the sacred bundle of a Lord Ayyappa pilgrim, triggered panic for some time in Kerala's Sabarimala.

Sabarimala: A non-venomous snake, which slithered into the sacred bundle of a Lord Ayyappa pilgrim, triggered panic for some time in Kerala’s Sabarimala on Tuesday.

The incident happened when a pilgrim from Andhra Pradesh kept his ‘irumudikettu’, the traditional sacred bundle which a devotee brings to the shrine, near a burrow on the forest path while taking rest.

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He along with other pilgrims in his group were sitting at ‘Marakkoottam’ in the traditional forest path while trekking to the hill shrine, a forest official said.

“It was a tiny snake and luckily non-venomous. The pilgrim himself saw the reptile sneaking into his sacred bundle. Based on the information we received, the department’s snake catcher rushed to the spot and caught the reptile,” he told PTI.

It was later released in the forest, the officer said.

He said that it was the mistake of the pilgrim that he carelessly kept the bundle near the burrow.
The devotee later proceeded to the Lord Ayyappa temple and offered prayers, the officer added.