[vittal]

Sabarimala Pilgrimage in March-2024

Swami Saranam

It was truly a pilgrimage / journey beyond words, with outstanding planning and execution, including attention to all aspects and even comforts in isolated regions and remote areas. Despite the hectic official obligation, collating the information and compiling the data of all pilgrims (who were part of this trip); it was indeed a great marathon effort by Guruswamy and the support team. As each day went by, more information was provided, and confirmations were obtained at each stage/location of the visit, Our excitement grew. We were looking forward to the visit with great excitement. Thanks for all the help, one and all, and to everyone who contributed to the success of this trip.

Prelude of the trip
It all began with our initial telephonic discussion during end of Dec 2023, initiating the trip plan and gathering information on the number of people who would wish to accompany for the Sabarimalai yatra.
We had visited Sabarimalai during the year 2022, and missed a similar pilgrimage trip in 2023 because of our work schedules. We thought that our trip during 2022, being the first, could be the last, as it was a dream come true.

But the calling came once again this year and fortunately for me the leave was sanctioned. If Lord Ayyappa calls, he will facilitate everything towards it.
Our plan was finalised during the month of January with high level itinerary of the dates & temples to visit enroute. During this year, it was finalised to travel by train from Bengaluru to Thrissur and our return journey by flight from Cochin to Bengaluru. Excitement for the trip started to mount once the tickets were booked well in advance. We also got a choice of lower berths in the train for Senior citizens.


Few Teasers of the trip

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What prompted us to undertake this travel?
Our many years of pilgrimage travel which is in abundance in our country, our experience during these travels has given us rich culture, tradition, history, discipline, thus resulting in a feeling of being cleansed. The minimum conveniences in remote pilgrimage sites, trek to temples, austerity, discipline in food habits has always had a long lasting impact on our holistic wellbeing. Inspite of hectic schedules, it amazes us how our energy levels has sustained from early mornings to late nights, definitely the source of energy has come from the sanctum darshan, holy charanamruth and Prasad.

There are many famous pilgrimage sites commonly visited by most. However there are so many lesser known temples in remote locations, less frequented. In our quest on these lines we have travelled along the length and breadth of India from J&K (Amarnath, Vaisho Devi) to Kanyakumari and Gujarat (Dwarka) to West Bengal (Ganga sagar). Listening to various discourses brought light on the Divya Desams: Vaishnava tradition and Paadal Petra Sthalams: 275 Shiva Sthalams. This aroused in us a devotion to visit the temples.

Some of the pilgrimages we have undertaken are given below:
• Char Dham of India (Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram)
• Ashtavinayak - The eight Ganesha temples in Maharashtra are Mayureshwar, Siddhivinayak, Ballaleshwar, Varadavinayak, Chintamani, Girijatmaj, Vighneshwar, Mahaganapati
• Aaru padai veedu (6 abodes of Murugan - Thiruthani, Swamimalai, Palani, Pazhamudircholai, Thirupparankunram and Thiruchendur)
• Dwadasa Jyotirlingas (Baidyanath, Bhimashankar, Grushneshwar, Kashi Vishwanath, Kedarnath, Mahakaleshwar, Mallikarjun, Nagnath, Omkareshwar, Rameswaram, Somnath, Triambakeshwar)
• Navagraha Sthalams in Tamil Nadu (Sooriyanar Kovil, Thingaloor, Vaitheeswaran Kovil, Thiruvenkadu, Alangudi, Kanjanur, Thirunallar, Thirunageswaram, Keezhperumpallam)
• Panchabhuta Sthalams - Srikalahasti, Thillai Nataraja Temple Chidambaram, Annamalaiyar Temple Tiruvannamalai, Ekambareswarar Temple Kanchi, Jambukeswarar Temple Thiruvanaikaval
• Nava Narasimhan - Ahobila Narasimha, Yogananda Narasimha, Jwala Narasimha, Bhargava Narasimha, Chatravata Narasimha, Varaha Narasimha, Malola Narasimha, Paavana Narasimha, Karanja Narasimha
• Gomukh to Ganga sagar. The Bhagirathi rises at the foot of Gangotri Glacier, at Gaumukh and the tributary eventually meets the ocean at Ganga Sagar in West Bengal. Ganga begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.
• Char Dham of Uttarkhand (Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath & Badrinath)
• Panch Prayag (Vishnuprayag, Nandaprayag, Karnaprayag, Rudraprayag, Devprayag)
• Uttara Kannada District or North Canara temples or temples in Coastal Karnataka district
• 108 Divya Desams: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ravelogue.html (108 Divya Desams: Vishnu Sthalams Travelogue) (108 Divya Desams: Vishnu Sthalams Travelogue)
• 275 Shiva Sthalams: Paadal Petra Sthalam – As of now we have covered 130 out of 275 Shiva Sthalams


Some of our travelogue in team-bhp

Our Grandeur of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...telangana.html (The Grandeur of Andhra & Telangana)

Rann-dezvous at Kutch
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ous-kutch.html (Rann-dezvous at Kutch)

Spiti Splendour - Delhi to Spiti in an XUV500
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ti-xuv500.html (Spiti Splendour - Delhi to Spiti in an XUV500)

Travelogue to the Golden City, Jaisalmer
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...jaisalmer.html (To the Golden City, Jaisalmer)

Sabarimala Pilgrimage during March-2022
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...age-march.html (Sabarimala Pilgrimage in March)

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Summary of the Trip


Bengaluru to Thrissur – By Train (overnight journey – 09:30 hrs)
Thrissur to Sabarimala to Kochi International Airport – By Road (332 Kms)
Trek to Sabarimala – By barefoot (at night approx. 03:00 hrs one way, additional time at Pamba)
Kochi to Bengaluru – By Flight (01:00 hours)

No. of days (travel): 03

Pre-preparation: follow the rituals (the days would vary if a person wears mala and takes irumudi)

Rituals: Many families have been following rituals traditionally. There could be variations due to work obligations and the family traditions. For details, refer to the section “Rituals and the travel as per the website of the Kerala Government”. More details are provided throughout the travelogue.
Note: Only people carrying irumudi are allowed to climb the 18 padi or steps at Sabarimala

Sabarimala Temple: the shrine of Lord Ayyappa is located atop a hill, 3000 metres above the sea level, at Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta district of Kerala.

When is the best time to visit?
Each year, a large number of pilgrims go during the mandalam season, which runs from November through December. It is preferable to plan your journey around the Sabarimala temple opening days if you travel during other months.


List of documents & items carried during the trip
1. Aadhar Card / ID proof
2. Online booking forms
3. Essential medicines (as advised by the doctor), Electral (ORS), Oxalgin
4. Clothes for 3 days (change over at Thrissur, Erumeli & Kaladi)
5. For Train, Bedsheet and air pillow were provided in train (as we were travelling by 3AC)
6. Irumudi
7. Mobile & charger (can’t live without it in this digital world!)
8. Shoulder bag just to carry essential things like water bottle, medicine, toiletry, towel etc. while claiming the Sabarimala hill
9. Carry less luggage (more comfort for both our tummy and inside the Van)
10. Adequate cash (though all pre-planned, for availing doli, offerings at the temple)
11. Flight / Train tickets :-)

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Adorning of the holy malai




24-Feb-2024
On the 24-February, we accompanied our Guruswamy Venkat to the Thippasandra Ayyapa temple Bengaluru. One of his senior Guruswamy initiated us to the Vratam with the adorning of the pious Malai.


25-Feb-2024
As a yearly ritual by our Guruswamy Venkat, we then visited the Jalahalli Ayyappa temple on 25th morning Sunday. We offered our prayers and we witnessed the Lord Ayyappa’s Seeveli. The energy was blissful. All of us gathered for a simple breakfast as our Guruswamy discussed the plan for the trip, providing details of the temples to visit enroute, stay options, temple darshans, pooja rituals, timings, doli options for the senior citizens, things to carry during the trip (like essential clothes, medicines, ID proof, Aadhar ID card).

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Subsequent Days

This was probably the first visit wherein we utilised the technology to meet together & gather in group for chanting Sharanam Ghosam. A google meet was arranged and scheduled at 7:30 am every day for the chanting of Sharana Gosham. Since it was done in a group, it had double the energy and devotion. The Sharana Gosham was followed by a song on Lord Ayyappa by one of us and culminated with Harivarasanam. Being the start of each day, it was a great energy booster for all of us.

Once maalai was adorned, the Nitya anushtanams were carried out by us. This included early morning bath, visit to the Agara Ayyappa temple each day at 6.30 am, consumption of simple home-made satvik food, chanting Sharanam Ghosam, wearing black dress and other anushtanams.
Following this routine, brought out a cleansing of our mind, body and soul. As the days passed by, yearning to have the darshan of Lord Ayyappa (once again) gained intensity. Some of the group members have travelled more than 20 times but we all were eagerly waiting for the travel day.
Ayyappa pooja and bhajan was arranged on the 10th of March (Sunday) at Renuka Devi mandira, Banaswadi.

https://youtu.be/mpeN6FpsvW4

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9-Mar-2024 (Saturday) – Preparations for Sahasranama Archanai

All of us gathered at the mandira, a day before, to help with decorations and getting flowers ready for the sahasranama archana. It was purely devotional and each of us experienced the presence of Lord Ayyappa as we participated in the pooja arrangements amidst namavalis and sharana gosham.

10-Mar-2024 (Sunday) – Sahasranama Archanai & Bhajanai
We reached Renuka Devi mandira, Banaswadi on 10th early morning, the pooja began at 7:30 am with Ganapathi pooja and Ayyappa Sahasranama archanai, in which all 18 ayyappamar’s participated. The poojai was followed by bhajan by Sri Ganesh Bhagavathar. The bhajan reverberated, changing the aura transporting us to celestial bliss.

During this trip we had 2 kanni swamy accompanying us in the pilgrimage trip to Sabarimalia. Kanni Swamy are those who are visiting Sabarimalai for the first time. My Mother in law, Mrs. Meenakshy (82 years old) and Smt. Malathi were the Kanni swamy this year. They lit the 18 padi (lamp) as all of us sang “Onnam thirupadi saranam ponnayyappa..swami ponnayappa”. Our minds had a virtual tour of the Sabari Peetham and 18 steps that lead to the Sannidhanam. We had bhagavath prasad and returned to our homes. It was a just a week’s wait for irumudi.

























Poojai Kanni sami video -

https://youtu.be/rUPLtsHHIic

Poojai -

https://youtu.be/0Nlfz5sC9Bw

Bhajan -

https://youtu.be/XEvX9Fb8S_c

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16-Mar-2024 (Saturday) – Temple visit Ulsoor

We were ready for the pilgrimage, packing necessary items and with just minimum needs. Venkat Guruswamy and Rajkumar Guruswamy planned on a Kempamma temple visit on 16th Saturday. We prayed to Goddess Kempamma, Ulsoor for our journey. My wife cooked breakfast for all of us which we had after the darshan of Goddess kempamma. The home-made breakfast was appreciated by all the Kanniswamies. We then visited a few more temples in the vicinity including Subramania swamy temple, Someshwara temple and Venkatachalapathy temple at Ulsoor. These temples brought nostalgic memories to many of us who have lived their childhood at Ulsoor.

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17-Mar-2024 (Sunday)

At 1:30 pm, we reached the Valampuri vinayagar temple at Banaswadi for the irumudi kattu. We participated in the preparations for irumudi. During this course we learnt how the thengai (coconut) is emptied and made ready for filling ghee. Also, the red cloth that had kannikkai to Lord Ayyappan was neatly wrapped in cloth to be put in the irumudi.

Krishnan Guruswamy, a very senior Octogenarian Guruswamy, blessed us with the irumudi kattu. The rituals began at 2:30 pm which went on until 5:00 pm. We had a small bhajan at the temple, followed by Bhagavat prasad (this was planned as an early dinner for all of us, before boarding the train to Thrissur).

We later kept our Irumudi on our head and left for the railway station, after praying to Lord Ganesha with the throw of coconut (eruthengai). Each of us were now a swamy and beyond our identity in this mundane world. There was a unique experience for all of us, as it was a feeling of freedom and did not have any burden in our minds.





















kannikai -

https://youtu.be/bGfuM7otcCA

irumudi Bag -

https://youtube.com/watch?v=72vFcs0DKbU

irumudi day -

https://youtu.be/YRlyQ2b65DQ

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17-March-2024 Continued....

All Ayyapan maar’s and maligapurams reached the KR Puram railway station, well on time to board the Kanyakumari express to Thrissur. The train arrived 20 minutes late at the station.

We all seated comfortably, the irumudi’s were carefully placed on the birth with a lot of reverence. Every Ayyappan gave a helping hand to all especially 2 octogenarian Ammas.

My wife who had a limping leg when we adorned the mala on 24th Feb, now saw a slow improvement in the leg pain and a healing energy.

We retired to sleep and reached Thrissur at 5:45 am the following day.

18-March-2024
We had arranged a mini-2-seater van for this trip and boarded the van to drop us at a nearby hotel where we could freshen up, have a bath and get ready for a yatra.

We all were ready by 7:30 am. Subsequently, our Guruswamy did a poojai for the van and echoed the Sharana gosham with prayers and devotion seeking blessings of Lord Ayyapa for our ongoing travel. Our Driver Dhanu was a very pleasant and calm person, who silently gave us an assurance of safe travel.

We began our journey with visit to Vandakunnathar temple, Thrissur, the abode of Lord Shiva, who is worshipped as a ghee lingam. The large prahaaram and energy of the Shiva tatva has a unique experience at this temple.

Next, we had darshan of Paramekaavu Bhagavati temple, where the Goddess resplendent radiance reached as a blessing to each one of us.

Next, we headed to visit the Krishna temple at Thiruvambady, where Lord Krishna was beautifully decorated with a flute in his hand and kalabam alankaram.

The above 2 temples that we visited, namely Vandakunnathar temple, Paramekaavu Bhagavati temple are located alongside the Thrissur round.
The Krishna temple at Thiruvambady is around couple of Km from the Vandakunnathar temple.

We were blessed to have been invited by Sri Raman’s family and Pushpa akka who were kind enough to offer breakfast prasadam to all of us. We partook of the prasadam breakfast of kesari and kuzhakkattai with arachu kalakki (a chutney side dish that is a mixture of mango, curd, fenugreek and seasoning) and sambar.

After having breakfast, we proceeded for Guruvayur around 10:30 am. We reached Guruvayur by 11:30 am. We waited at the queue for almost an hour because the uccha pooja was on-going. As we waited in the queue, we sang and chanted slokas and namavali of the Lord. At 12:30 pm, we had Darshan of Lord with kalaba alankaram (sandal) of the little beautiful Krishna.
Our Guruswamy had made arrangements and we were fortunate to have Bhagavath prasad lunch at the temple itself.

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After having lunch, we started for Vaikom at 2:00 pm. The journey was pleasant and comfortable, we all had rest in the bus while the sound system had a wonderful playlist of Ayyappa bhajans.

We reached Vaikom around 5:30 pm, freshened up, had a cup of tea. We then had a blissful darshan of Vaikathappan with kavacha alankaram. We all boarded the bus with prayers and hope that we will reach Etumanoor before the closing time i.e. 8:00 pm to have Darshan of the Lord Shiva at Etumanoor.

The driver made a calculated rush to the temple. We were quite fortunate to reach just 10 minutes before the temple closing time. As we entered the temple, the final seeveli of the Lord had begun and we had the blessing and Darshan of Lord Shiva.

The Ayyappa maars in our group were discussing about missing the darshan at this temple during their previous visits as their arrival time would typically be after the temple is closed. During our trip in 2022, we also experienced a similar situation wherein we reached Etumanoor Mahadeva Temple at 10:00 pm, way after the temple closure time.

We were all blessed to get prasadam of the Lord Etumanoor after the Seeveli. We rested outside the temple, repacked our luggage, had a light satvik dinner, and were now ready to reach Erumeli.

We left Etumanoor at 10:00 pm and reached Erimeli at 11.30 pm. The two kanni Swamis Amma and Smt Malati participated in the petai thullal (dancing ritual, celebrating the presence of the Lord Dharma Shasta or Ayyappan) and took the blessings of Sri Dharma Sashta.

Everyone got ready after a bath at 12:30 am, boarded the bus towards Pampa. We reached pampa by 1:30 am. After decent to the bank of river pampa, our Guruswamy did a pooja for the Irumudi and we took the pampa thirtham prokshanam (sprinkling of the pious water on one self as a mark of blessing).

We started to ascend for Sabarimalai at 2:30 am. The octogenarian Ammas and Chithra akka went by dholi. The rest of us ascended the steps towards Pampa Ganapathi, broke the auspicious coconut seeking Lord Ganapathi’s blessings for our ongoing yatra.

We started climbing the Neelimalai with lot of prayers and Sharana Gosham. My wifes’ knee miraculously had healed and she began to trek chanting the Lord’s name.

The second phase of the steep climb was Appachi medu, which was another couple of km of steep climb. As we reached the Appachi medu, we noticed a “Unda Vazhipadu” (a ritual to offer 2 grain balls to the gana’s of Lord Ayyappa). We made the offering and reached Sabari Peetham.

The steep climb was at an inclination of almost 45 degrees, the pathway had steps and gradient for the convenience of yatris. The path was well lit and one could climb with ease. This time of year, the night ascent helped everyone avoid the heat. We walked slowly and comfortably. Other youngsters and Guruswamy’s trekked faster and waited at the Sannidhanam.

We took a little more than 2:30 hrs to reach the Sannidhanam by walk.

The padinettu padi beckoned us, as we chanted loud “Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa ….” as we paid our humble obeisance in each step.

The sannidanam was resonating with Ayyappa Suprabhatam and sharana Gosham by devotees. There was a queue for darshan, we waited with irumudi and as we approached the sanctum sanctorum, we felt one with the supreme and totally oblivious to anybody’s presence. We called out to the Lord “Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa…”. We witnessed the Nei Abhishekam being performed to the Lord Ayyappa.

We had a blissful darshan of Lord Ayyappa and other deities around the praharam. Subsequently, we proceeded towards the Ayyappa sewa sangham and rested there for a while. Guruswamy and other Ayyappa maars removed the ghee for abhishekam as an offering to Lord Ayyappa. We again came around to have a second darshan of the Lord who was decorated with flower mala and resplendent in the light of the lamps that were lit on the left side of the Lord.

Guruswamy distributed the prasadam to all of us. This included aravanai payasam, Vibhuti and nei (or ghee that was offered to Lord Ayyappa). We also had a good darshan of Goddess Maligapuram Manja matha, where we rolled the coconut and took her blessings.

After having Pongal and Idli prasadam at the Ayyapa Sewa sangam, we started to descend. The descend started to put pressure on the knee and each one of us were careful not to slip or skid on the way. Ganesh Chitappa also taught my wife a technique to descend backwards to avoid pressure on the knee. She descended as comfortably as she climbed which is a miracle of Lord Ayyappa. We quenched our thirst to tender coconut water at Pamba and reached by 10:30 am.

We crossed the bridge across pampa river, started to ascend a few steps to reach the bus stop. We took a KSRTC transport to Nilakkal where our bus was parked. We boarded the bus by 12:30 pm to descend to Erimeli, subsequently heading towards Kalady, the birth place of Adi Shankaracharya. In between we stopped at 2:00 pm for lunch at Saravana bhavan (on the highway), where we had a sumptuous veg meal.

We reached Kalady at 5:00 pm. After refreshing, we visited the Kalady temple, the birthplace of Adi Sankaracharya. We broke a coconut at the Kalady temple, after the ritual of removing the malai by our Guruswamy. We also had darshan at the Krishna temple.

We boarded the bus at 6:00 pm to reach the cochin international airport at 6:30 pm. The flight departure time was 08:30 pm at Cochin International airport. We reached our destination, Bengaluru T1 at 10:00 pm.

Everyone dispersed to their respective homes, high in energy and a feeling of completeness, and immense gratitude for every experience we had throughout the pilgrimage.

The entire yatra or pilgrimage was spiritually elevating and learnt a lot from fellow Ayyappamars (their names are given below). Our Guruswamy exemplified all qualities of a devotee and lead us in this path.
1. Guruswamy Venkat Subramanian
2. Mr. Raj Kumar
3. Mrs. A. H. Meenakshy
4. Meenakshi Sankaran
5. Mr. Ganesh
6. Mrs. Jaya Ganesh
7. Mrs. Malati
8. Mrs. Rema Gopal
9. Mrs. Chitra
10. Mr. Krishnamurthy
11. Dr. Raja Sankaran
12. Dr. Vidya Raja
13. Mrs. Arul Mani
14. Mrs. Raji
15. Mr. Prasad
16. Mr. Pankaj
17. Mr. Karthik Gopal
18. Shravan Subramanian

Swamy Sharanam.














































Sabaraimalai sannidhanai -

https://youtube.com/watch?v=_eUa4x-hfPA

[Laxmistart]

Thank you for sharing your Pilgrimage experience, felt like i travelled alongside and received the blessings too

[Pennant1970]

Thanks for the detailed travel narration as well as the obvious devotion you have for everything that contains the divine spirit. I remember your travelogues from before, especially the previous Sabarimala trip. Blessed to share the trip through your words and pictures.

Just as a matter of information, the Shiva temple at Thrissur is "Vadakkunnatha" (no "n" before "d"). It means the Lord or Protector (Nathan) of the North (Vadakku). Stay blessed.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by vittal

Everyone got ready after a bath at 12:30 am, boarded the bus towards Pampa. We reached pampa by 1:30 am.

Sir, Thank you for sharing your pilgrimage experience in great detail.
Since you visited in March, where did your driver park the bus ? Was it in Pampa itself or did he have to go back to Nilakkal to park after dropping your group ?

[vittal]

Originally Posted by NPV

Sir, Thank you for sharing your pilgrimage experience in great detail.
Since you visited in March, where did your driver park the bus ? Was it in Pampa itself or did he have to go back to Nilakkal to park after dropping your group ?

Thanks

The vehicle was not allowed to be parked at Pampa. The driver parked the tempo traveller bus at Nilakkal.

We crossed the bridge across pampa river, started to ascend a few steps to reach the bus stop. We took a KSRTC transport to Nilakkal where our bus was parked.

[NPV]

Any idea about the operating time window of KeralaSRTC buses at Nilakkal bus station to reach Pampa?

We will not have a driver, plan is to park our car at the Nilakkal parking lot and take a bus to Pampa, so wondering what would be the earliest time in the morning when we can expect to find buses operating.

Searching online, I wasn’t able to find a bus timetable for Nilakkal bus station.