The Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala will reopen on April 10 afternoon for the eight-day annual Vishu festival that begins on Wednesday.
Temple head priest (Melsanthi) N. Balamurali will open the sanctum sanctorum at 5.30 p.m. The rituals will begin with Ashtadravya Ganapati homom on Wednesday morning.
Vishukkani darshan
The Melsanthi will prepare ‘Vishukkani' inside the sanctum sanctorum on April 13 and darshan will begin at 4 a.m. on April 14, according to Devaswom executive officer M. Satheeshkumar.
Mr. Satheeshkumar said Kalabhabhishekom and Sahasrakalasabhishekom rituals would be performed at the prior to the Utchapuja on all days. Padipuja, Pushpabhishekom, and Udayasthamanapuja are the major daily rituals to be held during the festival.
The temple will be closed after the Athazhapuja on April 18.
Harivarasanam Award
The maiden Harivarasanam Award instituted by the State government will be presented to singer K.J. Yesudas at a function to be held at the Sannidhaanam on April 14.
The award comprises a cash prize of Rs.50,000 and a citation. Devaswom Minister V.S. Sivakumar will present the award at a function to be held at the Dharma Sastha auditorium.
M. Rajagopalan Nair, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president, will preside over the function.
K. Jayakumar, Chief Secretary; N. Vasu, Devaswom Commissioner; K.V. Padmanabhan and K. Cicily, board members, and M. Sathiskumar, Sabarimala executive officer, will address the function. A music concert by Yesudas will be held later.
Keywords: Sabarimala, Yesudas