The mandala pooja, a key ritual marking the conclusion of the first phase of the annual pilgrimage to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa Temple, will take place on December 26.

The ritual will be carried out between noon and 12.30 pm on the day by temple tantri (head priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President P S Prasanth said in a press conference here on Tuesday.

The ceremonial “thanka anki” procession, commenced from the Aranmula Parthasarathi Temple in Pathanamthitta on Sunday, would reach Pamba by Wednesday afternoon, he said. The procession will first be welcomed by Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan at Pamba, and then received by the TDB President and members at the Sannidhanam (temple complex) in the evening.

Later, the “thanka anki,” the sacred attire, would be draped on the idol of the presiding deity before the ‘aarathi.’ After the mandala pooja and the “neyyabhishekam,” the portals of the Lord Ayyappa temple would be closed by 11 pm on December 26, marking the culmination of the first leg of the annual pilgrimage, he said.

The Sabarimala would be reopened on December 30 evening for Makaravilakku festivities, Prashant said, adding, the ritual would be held on January 14.

As part of crowd management, the virtual queue bookings have been limited to 50,000 and 60,000 for events on December 25 and 26.  The cap is also in line with a high court directive, according to which, the spot bookings must be limited to to 5,000 on both days, the TDB president said.

The number of virtual queue bookings on January 13 and 14 as part of the Makaravilakku festivities has been fixed at 50,000 and 40,000, he said.