4 months ago
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Marking the decision of a pilgrimage play that saw an unprecedented influx of devotees, the Ayyappa Temple astatine Sabarimala volition adjacent its doors connected Tuesday pursuing a sojourn by a typical of the Pandalam Palace.
The temple volition reopen astatine 5 a.m. connected Wednesday, followed by a Ganapati Homam. As per tradition, nary different idiosyncratic volition beryllium permitted to connection prayers during the day. Following the ritual, the Melsanthi (chief priest) volition adjacent the sanctum sanctorum aft covering the main deity with ineffable ash (bhasmam) and manus implicit the keys to the palace representative, Punartham Narayana Varma who volition past travel the procession carrying the Thiruvabharanam (holy jewels) backmost to the Pandalam Palace.
According to estimates, astir 53 lakh devotees visited the temple during this season. As of 7 p.m. connected January 18, 52,10,596 pilgrims had reached the Sannidhanam. Of this, 50,07,809 arrived via the Pampa way and 2,02,781 via the Sathram-Pullumedu path. After darshan, 3,056 devotees returned via the wood path.
The monolithic footfall has importantly boosted the temple’s revenue, with preliminary estimates indicating a full income of astir ₹450 crore, mounting a caller record.
