Sabarimala opens for annual pilgrimage season; virtual queue fully booked for two weeks

Pathanamthitta: The Mandala Pooja season commenced at the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala, with the new Melshanti (head priest), Arun Kumar Namboothiri, opening the sanctum sanctorum at 3 am on Saturday. Thousands of devotees gathered to offer prayers as the temple resonated with 'Saranam' chants in the early hours.

Pilgrims begun arriving at Sannidhanam on Friday. As of Saturday, 70,000 devotees have booked their darshan through the virtual queue system, with an additional 10,000 expected through spot bookings.

The sanctum sanctorum will close at 1 pm and reopen at 3 pm. Darshan will continue until 11 pm, concluding with the recital of Harivarasanam and the temple’s closure.

'Neyyabhishekam' begins daily at 3.30 am, followed by 'Ushapooja' at 7.30 am and 'Uchapooja' at 12.30 pm. 'Deeparadhana' will take place at 6.30 pm, and 'Athazhappooja' will be held at 9.30 pm. To accommodate the heavy influx of pilgrims, darshan facilities have been extended to 18 hours each day.

Virtual queue fully booked for two weeks
The virtual queue system for the first 14 days of the pilgrimage season has been fully booked. Only 6,000 slots remain available for November 30. A total of 70,000 devotees will access darshan through virtual queue bookings.

By November 29, all slots had exceeded capacity. On these days, entry will only be permitted via spot bookings. Spot booking facilities accommodate 10,000 devotees daily and are available at Pampa, Erumeli, and Sathram (Vandiperiyar). Heavy crowds have been reported at the Pampa spot booking centre.