The Travancore Devaswom Board has decided to replace the existing annadanam menu of pulao and sambar at Sabarimala with a traditional Kerala sadya, including payasam, for pilgrims. The change is expected to take effect by Wednesday or Thursday
Sabarimala’s Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season began on Monday with hundreds of devotees thronging the temple. Rituals were performed, and long queues formed for darshan. Daily pilgrim numbers are capped at 90,000 through virtual and spot booking systems.
Sabarimala is set to open for the 41-day Mandala pilgrimage season beginning Monday, with the Travancore Devaswom Board completing all arrangements for lakhs of devotees. Facilities include drinking water points, medical centres, sanitation services and strict virtual queue control
Opposition MLAs in Kerala disrupted Assembly proceedings for the second day, demanding the resignation of the Devaswom Minister over alleged irregularities in Sabarimala’s gold-plated idols. The government defended itself, citing the SIT probe ordered by the Kerala High Court
The temple was closed at 6.30 am after the darshan of Thrikkettanal Rajaraja Varma, a representative of the Pandalam Royal family. According to preliminary estimates by the TDB, approximately 53 lakh devotees visited Sabarimala during this season
The HC directing the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to take action against those found illegally charging Lord Ayappa devotees visiting Sabarimala temple for the 'pottukuthal' ritual
TDB President N Vasu said the RT-PCR test certificate, taken not more than 48 hours prior to their visit to the temple, is must for pilgrims from December 26.
Melshanti A K Sudheer Namboothiri opened the doors of the sanctum sanctorum and lit the lamps at 5 pm in the presence of Tantri Kandararu Rajeevaru, heralding the start of the 62-day long pilgrim season.
