President Murmu offers prayers at Sabarimala temple
MARKING a historic moment, President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa at the Sabarimala Temple in Kerala, becoming the first serving state head to do so.
Four-wheel-drive vehicles were arranged to transport her along the trekking route from Pamba to Sannidhanam, where she offered darshan and performed aarti.
The Travancore Devaswom Board, along with the police, has implemented extensive security measures for the visit.
At Sannidhanam, President Droupadi Murmu climbed the 18 sacred steps to reach the shrine, where she was received by State Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan and Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President P S Prasanth.
The temple Tantri, Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru, welcomed her with a poorna kumbha.
At the shrine, the President offered darshan to Lord Ayyappa, carrying the sacred bundle on her head. She and her team then placed their sacred bundles on the temple steps, after which the melshanti (chief priest) accepted their irumudikkettu for pooja.
After completing her darshan at nearby temples, including Malikappuram, the President returned to the TDB guesthouse for lunch and rest. TDB officials stated that restrictions were imposed on darshan for devotees during the visit.
With this, Murmu became the first woman head of state to visit the Lord Ayyappa shrine to offer prayers. She is now also the second Indian President to visit the shrine. Former President V V Giri had visited Sabarimala in the 1970s and had travelled to the shrine in a dolly.
Significance of Sabarimala Temple
The Sabarimala Temple is the abode of Lord Ayyapa, a Hindu deity believed to be the son of Mohini, the female incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and Lord Shiv - thereby also known "Hari-Har" putra.
This way, the shrine becomes highly revered in Hinduism with the embodiment of both Vaishnavism and Shaivism. It is visited by millions of devotees every year who make a beeline to the holy hill of Sabarimala. As per rituals, devotees have to go undergo a strict 41-day vratham (fasting) involving abstinence, vegetarianism, and prayer to prepare for the pilgrimage.
