Sabarimala Mandala Pooja: Thiruvabharanam procession to start today: Narayana Varma Pandalam royal representative

SABARIMALA: The chariot procession carrying the Thanka Anki to be donned on the Ayyappa idol for the Mandala Puja will leave from Aranmula today. The Thanka Anki, which is kept in the strong room of the Devaswom Board in Aranmula, will be taken out and opened for darshan at the Parthasarathy temple from 5 am. The procession will leave at 7 am. After receiving receptions at various temples, it will reach Pampa on the afternoon of the 26th. From here, the Thanka Anki, which will be placed in special caskets, will be carried on the heads of the Guruswamys and taken to the Sannidhanam. The Mandala Puja after the donning of the Thanka Anki will be held on the afternoon of the 27th.

Punarthamnal Narayana Varma, a member of the Pandalam royal family, has been appointed as the royal representative for the Thiruvabharanam procession that begins today in conjunction with the Makaravilakku Mahotsavam. He was appointed by Thiruvonamnal Ramavarma Valiyaraja, the Valiyathampuran of Pandalam Palace. The procession will leave from Pandalam on January 12.

Narayana Varma is the son of the late Thiruvonamnal Amba Thampuratty of the Pandalam Srampickal Palace and KN Narayanan Namboothiri of Kanjirakattu Illam, Nattassery, Kottayam.

After retiring as Under-Secretary in the Advocate General's Office, Narayana Varma became the Secretary of the Pandalam Palace Executive Committee. He is the State President of the Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam and the Patron of the Aluva Tantra Vidyapeetham, the Temple Ritual Protection Committee, and the Thiruvabharanam Patha Protection Committee.