Sabarimala pilgrimage: Huge devotee turnout with Rs 92 crore revenue in first 15 days

Sabarimala: Marking a sharp rise in devotee arrival footfalls in the holy Sabarimala temple, the Travancore Devaswom Board has recorded ₹92 crore in revenue during the first 15 days of the ongoing Mandala–Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.

This marks a 33.33 per cent rise from ₹69 crore in the same period last year. The data is up to November 30.

Aravana (prasdam) sales accounted for the largest share at ₹47 crore, up 46.86 per cent from ₹32 crore last year. Appam (sacred offering) sales amounted to ₹3.5 crore, similar to the previous season. Revenue from kanikka (donations by devotees) rose from ₹22 crore to ₹26 crore, up by 18.18 per cent.

Meanwhile, footfall at Sabarimala has touched 12,47,954 devotees between November 16 and November 30.

With relatively lighter crowds, pilgrims reported a smoother and more comfortable darshan experience, according to the Devaswom Board.

"For the past 3 days the crowds have reduced as compared to the initial days when the temple opened. This has helped the devotees reach the Sannidhanam easily in a more comfortable manner”, said Sharath Pillai, an official at the Pampa electricity department.

Guruvayur temple witness massive crowd for Ekadashi

The Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple witnessed an overwhelming influx of devotees on Monday for the annual Ekadashi festival, one of the temple’s most significant observances in the Malayalam month of Vrischikam. Devotees began arriving from the early hours, and thousands completed darshan while observing the Ekadashi fast. The total footfall is expected to touch one lakh, said Devaswom Board chairman Dr V K Vijayan, adding that all arrangements are functioning smoothly.

Many pilgrims travelled long distances and remained awake through the night to offer prayers to Lord Guruvayurappan on the spiritually significant day, which is believed to commemorate Lord Krishna’s delivery of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna during the Mahabharata war.

The temple opened at 3 am on Sunday and will remain open continuously for 53 hours, closing only at 8 am on Tuesday. As per a Supreme Court directive, devotees are permitted darshan for one hour after every set of five pujas, including the Udayasthamana puja.