Pandalam, Friday, January 13, 2012: The ceremonial procession carrying the sacred jewellery of Lord Ayyappa, Thiruvabharanam, set off to Sabarimala from here in an atmosphere charged with devotion on Friday.

Thousands of devotees thronged this palace town to witness the annual procession. The royal entourage will halt at the Ayroor Puthiyakavu Devi Temple near Ranni on Friday evening and at Laha Sathram on the Mannarakulanji-Chalakkayam main trunk road leading to Sabarimala on Saturday evening.

The procession will reach Valiyanavattom near Pampa on Sunday afternoon. TDB authorities will receive the Thiruvabharanam when the procession on its arrival at Sabarimala Sannidhanam by 6.15 pm.

The Thiruvabharanam is believed to have been offered to the presiding deity of the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple by the king of the erstwhile Pandalam royal dynasty who was the foster father of Lord Ayyappa a few centuries ago. It has been a custom since then to decorate the Ayyappa idol at Sabarimala with the sacred jewellery on the Makaravilakku day that usually falls on the first day in the Malayalam month of Makarom.

(With news agency inputs)