* Ayyappa devotees throng for Holy Sight
* Lakhs witness ''Makara Jyoti'' at Sabarimala

In an atmosphere charged with devotion, thousands offered worship at the hillshrine Sabarimala during the 'makara samkrama pooja', on Friday evening. The holy period marks the finale of two-month-long pilgrimage to the Lord Ayyappa temple.

As the 'Makara jyoti', held as a divine light by the devotees, the holly hillock and the foothill Pamba reverberated, with the Holy chanting of Lord Ayyappa. Thousands of pilgrims had reached and camped atop the hill from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The devotees who worshipped at the shrine on the auspicious moment included Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi and Malayalam star Jayaram. Over 30 million devotees visited the temple during the pilgrimage season, which passed of largely incident-free. Elaborate security arrangements were made, for the smooth conduct of the final phase of the pilgrimage.

Published Date : Saturday, 15/1/2011 1:16 PM IST