ALL SET FOR MAKARAVILAKKU AT SABARIMALA

ALL SET FOR 

MAKARAVILAKKU AT SABARIMALA

Devotees from different parts of South India began to camp at Sabarimala Sannidhanam as well as the surrounding hillsides in the forest area to worship the celestial star, Makarajyoti, which appears on the eastern horizon of the Sannidhanam on the Makaravilakku day on Sunday15th January, 2012. Almost all vantage points at the Sannidhanam have been occupied by pilgrims so that they could have a trouble-free view of the deeparadhana to be performed at Ponnambalamedu on Sunday evening. Pilgrims have been camping in make-shift tents pitched at Paandithavalom, Appachimedu, Marakkoottom, Urakkuzhy and near the Malikappuram temple, copra drying yard and the Forest department office at Sannidhanam since the past two days. They cook food in the surroundings of the tents made of poles, twigs and tree branches collected from the forests. Travancore Devaswom Board have also made arrangements for the Makarajyoti darshan from the open space arranged after demolishing the damaged pilgrim shelters at Paandithavalom.

This year, after a gap of several years, the muhurtham (auspicious time) for Makarasankrama puja is being planned in the midnight hour at 12.59 am on Sunday as per the astrological calculations. The auspicious Neyyahhishekom offering, ritualistic Sankrambhishekom as is called, to the presiding deity will be performed with the ghee brought from Kowdiyar Palace in Thiruvananthapuram. The Thiruvabharanam, sacred jewellery, will be brought to the Sannidhanam in a ceremonial procession from Pandalam by 6.15 pm on Sunday. The presiding deity will be adorned with the Thiruvabharanam prior to the deeparadhana. The deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu, a remote hill in the shola forests facing Sabarimala Sannidhanam, will be performed immediately after the deeparadhana at the Ayyappa Temple at 6.30 pm on Sunday. Travancore Devaswom Board president, M. Rajagopalan Nair, told The Hindu that the deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu would be performed by a senior priest. A 25-member team comprising TDB, Police and Forest officials will also be escorting the priest to Ponnambalamedu, board sources said.

Tribals’ claim

Meanwhile, tribals under the aegis of Mala Araya Samajom have also claimed their right to perform deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu. The samajom workers led by its leaders, P.K. Bhaskaran and K.K. Gangadharan, have already set off to Ponnambalamedu in a procession, protesting against the denial of permission for them to performing deeparadhana, reviving their lost tradition in the forests. Additional Director General of Police, P. Chandrashekharan, told The Hindu that the police have taken steps to prevent any outside force entering into the forests for performing deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu. Kummanam Rajashekharan, Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajom general secretary, has called upon the TDB authorities to sort out the issue through constructive talks with the tribal groups having hereditary right to perform deeparadhana at Ponnambalamedu and not to make Sabarimala and Ponnambalamedu a centre of controversy. A year after over 100 people died in a stampede after witnessing the 'celestial light' on Makar Sankranti day, the ritual of 'Makarajyothi' passed off peacefully at Kerala's Sabarimala temple this time, with pilgrims witnessing the light thrice on Sunday evening.

Around 6.35 p.m., the first light lit up the temple premises and nearby hillocks, which were crowded with pilgrims, who shouted 'Swami Ayyappa' with joy.The light appeared again two more times and pilgrims were seen praying and looking up at it.This is the first season after the Travancore Devasom Board (TDB), the custodian of the Sabarimala temple, last year told the Kerala High Court that the celestial light is man-made. Despite this,pilgrims in huge numbers were eagerly waiting for the celestial light to appear on the horizon.'We are not worried about whether it is man-made or otherwise. We have come to this temple knowing its power and we are really happy we are here on this day,' said Shankar Reddy, a devotee who came from Andhra Pradesh.

The sighting of the celestial light is the most important event of the two-month pilgrimage dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. According to believers, the sighting of the celestial light is auspicious and over the last few years, there has been a huge influx of pilgrims to witness it.
Several measures were taken by the administration taking into account the tragedy that took place at Pullumedu -- a hillock near the famed temple -- in which 102 pilgrims died in a stampede soon after devotees returned witnessing the celestial light last year.'We had made all the arrangements for the smooth conduct of today's ritual. Double barricades had been put in places to ensure the crowds were controlled and regulated. More than 3,000 police officers took care of the security arrangements and loudspeaker announcements were also made in five languages,' Devasom Minister V.S. Sivakumar said.

This season also had a fresh round of controversy after tribesmen under the aegis of Mala Araya Samajom claimed that it was their right to light the fire and they would march towards the place on the hillock. More than a hundred of the Samajom members tried to execute the march, but the police stopped them.Later, they held a prayer and told reporters that they would not relent till their demand was met.'It is our right and we want it be given to us. We will continue to raise this issue till our demand is met,' said Samajom members.The Sabarimala temple is situated on the Western Ghats, four kilometres uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta district in central Kerala. It is one of the most famous Hindu pilgrim centres in India.

                                                 Prof. John Kurakar