Sabarimala temple festival concludes with Arat

Friday, April 6, 2012: The Arat ceremony, marking the culmination of the ten-day annual festival at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, was held in the Pampa on Thursday forenoon.
Tantri Kandararu Maheswararu, assisted by Melsanthi N. Balamurali, performed Arat-bali and other rituals at the Sannidhanam in the morning. An idol of the presiding deity was taken out on a caparisoned elephant in a procession to Pampa with the accompaniment of the temple orchestra at 8.15 a.m.
Hundreds of devotees, Akhila Bharata Ayyappa Seva Sanghom volunteers, and Travancore Devaswom Board staff took part in the procession to Pampa and back to the Sannidhanam later in the afternoon.
The Arat rituals were performed at the specially prepared Arat Kadavu in the Pampa at 11.45 a.m. The Tantri, assisted by the Melsanthi, performed the Aratpuja, Manjal-neerat and Utchapuja to the deity at the Arat Kadavu.
Later in the evening, the Ayyappa temple was closed after the Athazhapuja.