Thousands witness Makarajyothi

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Tens of thousands of devotees from different parts of the country on Sunday evening witnessed ‘Makarajyothi’, the auspicious celestial star, and ‘Makaravilakku’, which marked the finale of the two-month long annual pilgrimage season at Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala.

The Makaravilakku appeared thrice atop the remote hill Ponnambal- amedu facing the Ayyappa Temple at 6.40 pm as the atmosphere was filled with reverberations of ‘Swamiye Saranam Ayyappa’. Minutes later, with the ‘jyothi’ appearing on the eastern horizon of the Sannidhanam, the devotees got a feeling of the fulfillment of life.

Earlier ‘deeparadhana’ was performed before the presiding deity on the auspicious Makara Sankramam after the idol of the presiding deity was adorned with ‘Thiruvanbahranam' (holy jewels) brought to the shrine in a ritualistic procession from Pandalam Valiyakoickal temple.

Devaswom minister V.S. Sivakumar and Travancore Devaswom Board president M. Rajagopalan Nair received the procession which was led by royal palace representative Harivarma Raja of Kaippuzha ‘Panthapla- vil’ Palace.

After the auspicious star was sighted, the devotees were seen rushing to have darshan of their favourite deity, which has resulted in commotion.

Devotees were seen falling on the ground and two persons got injured. The RPF and special police squads soon joined the action and brought the situation under control by effectively controlling the crowd using ropes.

“The atmosphere here is divine and I’m delighted to be part of it,” said Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi, who visited the shrine for the 12th year. Other dignitaries include actor Jayaram and Kodikunnil Suresh, MP.

Meanwhile, the controversy over sighting of ‘light’ on Saturday continued when Mr Sivakumar agreed with the Devaswom president’s view that the ‘light’ was actually a search light used by the forest officials.

On the rights of Malayarayas in lighting the ‘Makaravilakku,’ Mr Rajagopalan Nair said neither tantri Kandaru Maheshwararu nor any other priests of his stature demanded the inclusion of the tribes.

When asked whether Rahul Easwar, who supported tribals, was acting against the Board, Mr Rajagopalan Nair said the former did not inherit the tantric tradition.

Earlier in the day, police stopped Rahul Easwar and a group of tribal people from proceeding towards Ponnambalameedu near Kalaketty.