Thousands of Lord Ayyappa devotees on Monday witnessed the auspicious ‘makaravilakku’, the ritualistic ‘deeparadhana’ (aarthi) held at Ponnambalamedu, the hill facing the shrine, as part of the annual festivities.
Braving heavy rush, the pilgrims queued up for hours to have a glimpse of Lord Ayyappa, carrying the ‘irumudi kettu’ (the traditional bundle a devotee brings to the shrine) over their heads. The ‘sannidhanam’, the temple complex, reverberated with Lord Ayyappa hymns as the portals of the sanctum sanctorum was thrown open for the ‘deeparadhana’ in the evening, which was performed to the idol of the deity, adorned with holy jewels ‘thiruvabharanam’.