Sabarimala Temple in Kerala is gearing up for Makaravilakku Festival. As part of the preparations to prevent overcrowding of devotees, it has been decided to limit the spot booking facility at Sannidhanam to 5,000 persons per day. This measure will be in effect from today until January 15. This move will ensure smooth and safe darshan.

The decision is based on Kerala High Court’s direction for efficient crowd management during festival seasons at the Sabarimala temple.

Virtual Queue Limit

Bookings through the virtual queue have been fixed on the Devaswom board website as 60,000 on January 12, 50,000 on January 13 and 40,000 on January 14. The devotees are also advised against camping on the hillock. January 14th is the Makara Jyoti day. It is customary for devotees to wait in Parnasalas from the 10th to see the Jyoti. For this reason, preparations are in progress to avoid the crowd that may arise on Makaravilakku day.

Apart from limiting the spot booking, police will conduct an inspection of the devotees at Nilakkal before allowing them to enter Pampa. The police will implement the guidelines to control the cooking and other activities of devotees sitting in the paranasal. Various steps are being taken to ensure security at the various places prepared for Jyoti Darshan.

The Thiruvabharnam procession will leave for Sabarimala at 1 pm on the 12th from the Valiya Koyikkal Temple in Pandalam after the darshan of devotees and various ceremonies. After reaching various temples, they will have darshan facilities and then rest at the Ayiroor Puthiyakavu temple at 9:30 pm. The procession, which will leave at 3 am on the 13th, will rest at 9 pm in Laha.

On the 14th, the day of Makaravilaku, it will leave Laha and reach Sabaripeetha at 4 pm via Pandithavalam, Cherianavattom, Neelimala, and Apachimedu. Then it will be received at the Sannidhanam at 5:30 pm via Saramkuthi. The police are making necessary arrangements to ensure the safety of the pilgrims on the procession routes.

What Is MakaraVilakku Festival?

Makara Vilakku is a seven-day festival commencing on the day of Makara Sankranthi, the day on which the sun is in summer solstice. It was on this auspicious day, the idol of Dharma Sastha was enshrined in the temple. The festival lasts for seven days and ends with the ritual known as ‘Guruthi’ an offering conducted to propitiate the gods and goddesses of wilderness. No one remains in the temple premises after the performance of Guruthi.

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