President Droupadi Murmu offers prayers at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple in Pathanamthitta on Wednesday. | Photo credit: PIB/ANI
President Droupadi Murmu offered prayers at the Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala on Wednesday, becoming the country’s first female president to worship at the famous hill temple.
The President arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Pramadom around 8.40 am in a special helicopter. She was formally welcomed by Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan, Anto Antony, MP, KU Jeneesh Kumar and Pramod Narayanan, MLA, District Collector S. Prem Krishnan and District Superintendent of Police R. Anand. From there she traveled to Pampa in a specially arranged motorcade, where elaborate security and traditional arrangements were made for her visit.
In Pampa, the President began her pilgrimage by washing her feet in the Pampa River in accordance with the purification ritual of Ayyappa devotees. She then proceeded to the Pampa Ganapathi temple, where under the supervision of Melshanthi Vishnu Namboothiri, they prepared and tied the Irumudi kettu, a double sacred bundle carried by devotees, for her.
Tantri Kanadaru Mahesh Mohanaru receives President Droupadi Murma at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple on Wednesday. | Photo credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Her ADC Saurabh S. Nair, PSO Vinay Mathur and son-in-law Ganesh Chandra Hombrom also participated in the ritual, following the same procedure observed by the pilgrims before their ascent to the Sannidhanam. The President and her team then traveled in a special convoy of vehicles to Sabarimala Sannidhanam.
The hill temple and its surroundings were placed under an unprecedented security cover, with the movement of other pilgrims beyond the Nilakkal base camp being prevented during the period of her visit.
The President reached Sabarimala around 11:45 am and climbed the Pathinettam Padi (18 sacred steps) to reach the sanctum sanctorum. At the Sannidhanam, she was accorded a grand reception with purna kumbh Tantri Kandararu Mahesh Mohanaru. Before visiting the Malikappuram Devi Temple and the Vavar Swami Shrine, she offered prayers to Lord Ayyappa and the upadevatas (sub-deities).
Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President PS Prashanth, Finance and Devaswom Minister MG Rajamanickam and Sabarimala Melshanthi S. Arunkumar Namboothiri were among those who received the President at the temple.
After the darshan, a wooden carving of Ayyappa, a traditional memento, was presented to the President by Minister VN Vasavan on behalf of the Travancore Devaswom Board. Board members A. Ajikumar and PD Santhosh Kumar were present.
After lunch, the President rested briefly at the Devaswom guest house before starting her return journey. She left Sannidhanam for Pampa around 12:15 PM.
At around 4:15 PM, President Murmu took off from the Pramadom heliport for Thiruvananthapuram. Among others, Minister Vasavan and MP Anto Antony saw her off.
Published – 22 Oct 2025 19:51 IST
