SABARIMALA: Areekara Subramanya Sankaran Namboothiri has been selected as the new head priest (Melsanthi) of the hill shrine of Sabarimala. Hailing from Areekara in Thiruvananthapuram, he currently serves as the head priest of the Pazhavangadi temple. Young Devananthan—son of V. Arjuna of the Pandalam Nalukettu Palace and Sharmada R. Varma of the Kottayam Karappuzha Ilayakovilakam—selected the new Sabarimala head priest through a traditional draw of lots. Meanwhile, A. Damodaran Namboothiri, a native of Vadakara in Kozhikode, was chosen as the Melsanthi of the Malikappuram temple. Anaswara, daughter of Maithili Raja and Ranjith Rajan of the Tripunithura Lakshmi Vilasam Palace, picked the chit to select Damodaran Namboothiri for Malikappuram.
Meanwhile, the temple doors opened yesterday for the monthly Thulam rituals. A unique feature of this month’s poojas is that the sanctum sanctorum has opened on Mahanavami and Vijayadashami days after decades. With pooja holidays coinciding with the festival days, a heavy rush of devotees is anticipated. The temple will close at 10:00 PM on October 22 upon the completion of the Thulam rituals, followed by the commencement of the upcoming Mandala pilgrimage season on the 17th of next month.
Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan visited Sabarimala yesterday to review the preparatory arrangements for the Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season. As part of providing enhanced facilities to pilgrims, the Travancore Devaswom Board has made toilet facilities at Sannidhanam and Pamba entirely free of charge this season. Additionally, the mess grant for police personnel on duty has been enhanced, and a large contingent of police forces is being deployed at Sannidhanam and along major trekking routes to effectively manage crowd control.
For more details: Navamalayalam.com