Pathanamthitta(Kerala) | Thousands of devotees thronged the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple on Friday evening as the portals of the hill-top shrine opened a day ahead of the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage.
The 41-day long pilgrimage season would begin on Saturday, the first day of the auspicious Malayalam month of Vrichikam.
The sanctum sanctorum was opened at 4 pm under the aegis of current temple 'tantri' (head priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru and his son, Kandararu Brahmadathan, who will be replacing him, while 'melshanthi' (chief priest) P N Mahesh Namboothiriri led the rituals, temple sources said.
The 'sannidhanam', the temple complex, and its premises reverberated with chants of 'swamiye saranam Ayyappa' by devotees who trekked for hours through the traditional path from the base camp at Pampa to reach the hill shrine, according to visuals shown on TV channels.
No poojas were conducted on Friday.
New 'melshanthies' of the Sabarimala and Malikappuram temples -- S Arunkumar Namboothiri and T Vasudevan Namboothiri respectively -- will open their respective shrines on Saturday, the sources said.
Even before the shrine was to be opened in the small hours of Saturday for the beginning of the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage, Sabarimala and its premises already witnessed a heavy rush of devotees, the sources said.
State Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan, Travancore Devaswom Board president P S Prashanth were present at the shrine to review the final arrangements.
The government has said that 70,000 devotees will be permitted to have darshan each day through the virtual queue booking system.
In addition to that, 10,000 devotees will be allowed to book slots for darshan at counters set up on the way to the shrine, the sources said.
Extensive arrangements have been put in place by the various government departments and the police to ensure smooth and safe darshan for devotees during the pilgrimage season.
In a first for the Sabarimala pilgrimage, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has introduced a localised weather forecasting system, similar to those for the Amarnath and Char Dham yatras.
Recognising the challenges posed by rising temperatures and high humidity during dry spells, the IMD also plans to install temperature gauges in the area.
The initiative follows a request from the Pathanamthitta district administration, which sought real-time weather updates for Sabarimala due to the region's susceptibility to extreme rainfall.
In another first, an 'edathavalam' (halting point) has been established at the Cochin International Airport for pilgrims travelling to the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple by air.