Sabarimala: The famed Lord Ayyappa temple here opened for the five day monthly poojas this evening to mark the Malayalam month 'Idavam' .
Chief priest VN Vasudevan Namboothiri opened the sanctum sanctorum of the hill shrine in the presence of 'tantri' Kandararu Rajeevaru.
Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) President A Padmakumar, board member KP Sankardas, Sabarimala Special Commissioner and district judge Manoj were among those present when the temple was opened.
"A large number of Lord Ayyappa devotees climbed the sacred 18 steps and offered prayers on the initial day," a TDB release said.
There was no special poojas on Tuesday and the shrine would witness customary pujas and rituals, including 'neyyabhishekam', 'kalabhabhishekam' and 'padi puja' in the coming days, the release added.
After the five-day poojas, the shrine would be closed on May 19.
Kerala had witnessed massive protests by Lord Ayyappa devotees opposing the entry of girls and women of menstrual age into the Sabarimala temple since the CPI(M)-LDF government decided to implement the Sept 28 apex court order allowing women of all age groups to enter the sabarimala lord ayyappa shrne.
On September 28 last year, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, headed by then Chief Justice Dipak Misra, lifted the centuries-old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine.
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