Devotees throng at Sabarimala temple as holy shrine reopens for monthly worship

A large number of devotees thronged to the Sabarimala temple on Thursday.

The Sabarimala temple has reopened for five-day monthly puja in the Malayalam month, which is known as Kumbhom.

Considered as the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, many worshippers, despite tight vigil were seen with full zeal in serpentine queues to enter the hill-top shrine of Lord Ayyappa.

The Sabarimala temple and surrounding areas witnessed a string of protests since October last year after the Supreme Court in its judgment, on September 28, 2018, removed the centuries-old ban on entry of women between 10 and 50 into the holy shrine.

Nearly four months after the apex court permitted women of all ages to enter the temple, two women aged below 50 entered the Lord Ayyappa temple to offer prayers.