Pettathullal held with religious fervour

ERUMELY: The customary Erumely Pettathullal, the ritual cherishing the memory of the victory of Lord Ayyappa over demon ‘Mahishi,’ was held with religious fervour witnessed by thousands of devotees from Erumely Kochambalam to Erumely Sree Dharma Sastha temple on Thursday. The pettathullal by the 500-member Ambalappuzha team headed by Periyor Chandasekharan Nair began at 12.15 pm after sighting “Krishnapraunthu’ on the sky above the temple. Applying various colours on the face and  body of the participants of pettathullal, the team was accompanied by caparisoned elephants carrying the ‘thidambu’ of Lord Dharma Sastha. Playing of temple percussion instruments and dancing to their tunes was the special attraction. At the gate of Erumely Sree Dharma Sastha temple, the procession was given a traditional reception by Travancore Devaswom Board president M Rajagopalan Nair, members K Sicily and K V Padmanabhan and devaswom commissioner N Vasu. The pettathullal by the Ambalappuzha team concluded after offering prayers at the temple. The pettathullal by the 300-member Alangattu team led by Vijayakumar began from the Kochambalam immediately after witnessing a star above the temple at 2.30 p.m. The team members, after applying sandalwood paste on the forehead, were accorded a ceremonial reception at the temple gate of Sree Dharma Sastha temple at 3.30 pm by devaswom authorities.  The ritual  concluded after circumambulating the nalambalam of the temple and offering prayers. Both the pettathullal teams will reach Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple on January 14 after a night’s halt at Karimala.The pettathullal teams will also partake of the customary Pampasadya at Valiyanavattom on January 14.