Makaravilakku 2022, Makaravilakku 2022 Date
Makaravilakku is an annual festival held on Makara Sankranti day in Kerala at Sabarimala Temple. The festival includes the Thiruvabharanam (sacred ornaments of Lord Ayyappan) in a procession and a large gathering at the hill shrine of Sabarimala. Around half a million devotees visit the Sabarimala Shrine every year to have a darshan of Sabarimala Makaravilakku Mahotsavam. Thousands of devotees of Lord Ayyappa gather at temple to see Makarvilakku (light or flame) which appears thrice on the Ponnambalamedu hill, 4 km away from the temple.
Makara Jyothi
Makara jyothi is a star that appears in the sky on Makara Samkramam, when the Sun moves from dhanu rasi (Sagittarius) to Makaram rasi (Capricorn) on the first day of the Malayalam month of Makaram, which comes out on January 14 (Makara Sankranti).
The sacred ornaments of Lord Ayyappa, who is believed to have lived at Pandalam palace (around 80 km away), would be brought to Sabarimala shrine from the palace in a procession in the evening. The erstwhile royal family of Pandalam are now the custodian of the ornaments.
Makara vilakku is a light lit at Ponnambalamedu, a plateau near the Sabarimala shrine. The light, believed to have celestial origins, is shown three times by the chief priest of Pamba temple. Pamba is the base station of Sabarimala. The light is called as Makara vilakku. The Makara vilakku ritual is done when the Sirius star appears in the sky. The ritual of Makara vilakku had been done by Malaya araya tribals earlier but when the Travancore Devaswom Board took over the administration of the temple in the early 1950s, the tribal community lost that right. Every year lakhs of devotees visit this place to witness the event. This year also TDB expects two to three lakh pilgrims at the hill shrine to witness the most auspicious event.
Makaravilakku Legend
As per a legend, Lord Sri Rama and his brother Lakshmana met Sabari, a tribal devotee of Sri Ram, at Sabarimala. Sabari offered fruits to Sri Ram and Lakshmana after tasting them. Sri Ram accepted them gladly and whole-heartedly. Sri Ram saw a divine person doing tapasaya. He asked Sabari about him and Sabari said it was Sasta. Rama walked towards Sasta and the latter stood up to welcome Rama. The anniversary of this incident is celebrated on Makara Vilakku day.
Makaravilakku, is a part of a religious ritual practiced earlier by the Malayaraya tribe who are believed to be the descendants of Malayaman Kaari in the forest of Ponnambalameu (the place where Makaravilakku appears) and then later secretly continued by The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). It has been a practiced for more than hundreds of years by the tribes.There is a temple in the Ponnambalamedu, which is not open to the general public and it's under the control of Forest department of Kerala. When the Sirius star appears in the sky on Makaram 1st, these tribes too perform their rituals in that temple. As in the temple of Sabarimala they also perform Arathi encircling the fire around the Idol. It is performed by lighting camphor and ghee in a vessel and is circled around the idol 3 times. This lamp or fire is what we see from the Sabarimalai temple and call it Makara Jyothi but the fire in the Ponnabalamedu is the actual Makaravilakku. The holy Light... "The Jyothi is a star that can be found in the sky on the Makarasamkrama day above the Ponnambalamedu towards the eastern direction of Sabarimala. The lamp lighted during the time of Deeparadhana (arati) in the temple is known as Makara Vilakku".
The Makaravillakku can be seen from Sannidhanam, Pandithavalam, Pulmedu, Hilltop, Chalakayam, Attathodu, Saramkuthi, Neelimala, Marakootam, Panjipara.
Makaravilakku 2022 Date and & Time
Makaravilakku 2022 Date - Friday, January 14, 2022
Makara Vilakku Sankranti Moment - 02:43 PM
