Thousands worship at Sabarimala temple

Thousands of pilgrims from different parts of the country offered worship at the Lord Ayyappa temple here on the occasion of 'makarasamkramam' this evening, marking the finale of the two month long pilgrimage to the hill shrine.
Hours before the sunset, the holy hillock and the base camp Pampa were thronged by devotees, carrying on their heads the offerings to the lord.
The air resounded with the chant of "swamiye saranam ayyappa..." as the 'deeparadharana' (arti) was performed at the sanctum sanctorum with the idol of the presiding deity donned with the glittering 'holy jewels."
Moments before the 'deeparadharana', caskets carrying the holy jewels, which were taken in a procession from the Pandalam palace about 100 km from here two days ago, had reached the shrine.

One of world's major pilgrimages, over 30 million devotees were estimated to have visited the shrine since the season started in mid-November.
Large contingents of police, fire force and disaster management personnel had been deployed at the foothills of Pampa, along the steep trekking path and atop 'Sannidhanam' (temple complex) for crowd management and security.
The temple management said there had been a significant increase in arrival of pilgrims during the 41-day 'mandala pooja' season that began in mid-November and "Makaravilakku" season since January 1.