Sabarimala: Thousands of pilgrims offered prayers at the Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala on Wednesday, as the auspicious Mandala pooja was performed at the hill shrine in the afternoon. The pooja marked the culmination of the 41-day-long first leg of the annual pilgrimage season. 

The ritual was performed after adorning the idol of Lord Ayyappa with 'thanka anki', the sacred golden attire brought to Sannidhanam in a ceremonial procession on Tuesday evening. 

The temple tantri (chief priest) Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru adorned the idol with thanka anki and guided other rituals including Kalashabhishekam and Kalasabhishekam, said temple authorities.

Besides thousands of pilgrims from and outside Kerala, who queued up for hours in and around the Sannidhanam, prominent officials of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) were also present before the sanctum sanctorum when the ceremonies were held. 

The shrine will be closed after the Mandala pooja and will be reopened in the evening for devotees to offer prayers before closing in the night. 

The shrine remains closed for three days and will be reopened on December 30 for Makaravilakku rituals. The Makaravilakku ritual will be held at the hill shrine on January 15 marking the culmination of the two-month-long annual pilgrimage, TDB sources added. 

As stated by TDB earlier, as many as 31,43,163 devotees visited and offered prayers at Sabarimala till December 25 during the season. The hill shrine received Rs 204.30 crore as revenue in the last 39 days till December 25, they added. 
(With PTI inputs)