The precious and holy jewelry to adorn Lord Ayappa during the celebrations of 'Makaravilakku', the grand finale of the pilgrimage period, is brought from Pandalam Palace in a ceremonial procession early morning on the 28th Dhanu (around 12th January), three days prior to 'Makarasankranthi', to the Valiya Koikal Sastha Temple at Pandalam.
The Pandalam Royal family has traditional rights over Sabarimala temple because of the foregoing events. One such privilege is keeping in safe custody the 'thiruvabharanam' or the divine and sacred ornaments of Lord Ayappa. The sacred jewels are kept in three wooden boxes and consist of a diamond diadem, gold bracelets, necklaces embedded with precious gems, swords, silver arrows and images of elephant, horse and leopard, all fashioned out of gold. The ornaments are then viewed and worshipped by a large number of devotees, who render offerings to them. The occasion is believed to be highly auspicious and beneficial. The procession then starts from Valiya Koikkal Sastha Temple in the afternoon of the same day.
The devotees of Lord Ayyappan / Ayappan show the strength of their devotion in various ways. At every rest stop along the way are reminders of the mission these pilgrims are on. These can be seen in the numourous idols and messages to Lord Ayyappan / Ayappan. Every town that the pilgrims pass through has crowds of onlookers cheering on the pilgrims. The shops are beautifully decorated with shopkeepers anticipating good sales of supplies for the pilgrimage. They also sell toys and other playthings for the children going along on the pilgrimage. Here, the devotees are seen at the Sree Siva Parvathy Temple at Kalaketty.
During the trek up to the mountain where the Sabarimala temple is situated, the devotees keep themselves going by chanting the name of Lord Ayyappan / Ayappan, avatar / incarnation of lord Shiva / Siva, the Destroyer in the Hindu Trinity. They carry the Irumudikuttu, offerings to Lord Ayyappan on their heads. The pilgrims are not allowed put this down till they reach the Sabarimala temple, Kerala, South India, India. The irumudikattu is wrapped in saffron cloth called kesari kapra, an auspicious / holy color.
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