SABARIMALA, INDIA, January 14, 2008: Thousands of devotees on Monday evening witnessed the “Makara Jyothi” — a celestial light on the eastern horizon — marking the finale of the pilgrimage season of the hill shrine of Sabarimala, which witnessed a record turnout of 32.5 million pilgrims this season. The chant of “Swami…Saranam…Ayyappa” rent the air as the holy light flickered across the skies above the Ponnambalamedu after the evening puja was performed in the shrine with the Lord’s idol adorned with glittering “Holy Jewels.”
Hours before, the Sannidhanam around the temple had turned into a virtual sea of humanity with the devout from different parts of the country converging in thousands for the auspicious occasion.
Thousands of others had darshan of the holy fire on the banks of the river Pampa, from where the uphill trek was halted this morning to avoid overcrowding.
Moments before the evening puja, three wooden caskets containing the holy jewels were brought to the shrine in a procession, which set off from the Panthalam Palace some 60 km away, where Lord Ayyappa was believed to have spent his childhood as the adopted son of a local king.
Over 3,000 police personnel had been deployed in and around the area for security and crowd-management. Kerala Devaswom Minister Sudhkaran said on Monday that the revenue received by the temple increased by Rs 11.7 millions from last year’s.