Due to the surge in pilgrims, the income at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has reached ₹210 crore. Of this, ₹106 million was earned through the sale of ‘aravana’. There has been a significant increase in revenue compared to previous years, said K. Jayakumar, President, Travancore Devaswom Board.
As the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, which began on November 16, completed one month, the total number of devotees who had darshan of Lord Ayyappa reached 28 lakh. This season also saw an increase in the number of pilgrims arriving via forest trekking routes, with a total of 46,690 devotees reaching the Sannidhanam via the Azhuthakkadavu-Pampa route, while 74,473 pilgrims arrived via the Sathram route. Negotiations are underway with the police and forest department to regulate this flow, including the introduction of special permits for those coming through the Erumely-Azhutha forest road. A total of 25,60,297 devotees reached Sabarimala from Pampa.
Elephant attack
Meanwhile, a joint police and forest department check was conducted along the Pullumedu forest trail on Thursday to ensure the safety of pilgrims from Ayyappa. The inspection followed an incident on the night of December 17 in which elephants damaged the roof and fencing of the forest department’s check post at Pandithavalam.
Following this, officials thoroughly inspected the forest trail in the morning and confirmed that it was free of danger to wildlife. Once security was secured, the devotees could proceed along the route.
In the meantime, the limit of 20 cans of aravana per person will continue. After the mandala puja, the temple closes on December 27 and reopens after three days. Another aravana will be produced to build buffer stock, said K. Jayakumar, president of TDB.
The pilgrimage season started this year with a stock of 45 lakh cans of aravana. While daily sales were initially expected to be around 3.5 million cans, actual sales averaged 4.5 million cans per day, quickly depleting supplies. Currently, more than 10 thousand cans are available as a reserve. Currently, about 3,000,000,000 m² are produced daily, with another 1,000,000 drawn from reserve stocks.
Efforts are also underway to sort out the logistical issues involved in serving Kerala-style meals as part of the ‘annadanam’. Sufficient reserves have already been acquired.
Technical master plan
Meanwhile, Mr. Jayakumar said that there is no rigidity regarding reservation of seats. The court has allowed flexibility based on circumstances and decisions will be taken depending on the flow of pilgrims. For now, the daily limit of 5,000 seat reservations will continue.
TDB also aims to embrace greater use of technology in managing the pilgrimage. A technological master plan is being prepared in accordance with court directives. AI and GPS-based systems could be used to estimate travel time from Nilackal to Pampa and waiting time in queues, allowing for smoother crowd management, the TDB president added.
Published – 18 Dec 2025 19:48 IST
