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Summary:

The 41-day Mandala pilgrimage season at Sabarimala concluded on Saturday, December 27, 2025, with the closing of the temple doors after the Harivarasanam song. The temple will reopen on December 30th for the Makaravilakku festival, scheduled for January 14th. This year saw a slight decrease in pilgrim numbers compared to last year (30.01 lakh this year vs 32.49 lakh last year), attributed to stricter regulations on virtual queue and spot booking systems. The Mandala Pooja was performed between 10:10 AM and 11:30 AM on Saturday. Virtual queue bookings are already full until January 10th.

News Article:

Sabarimala Mandala Pilgrimage Concludes, Temple to Reopen for Makaravilakku Festival

Pamba, Kerala – December 27, 2025 – The 41-day Mandala pilgrimage season at the Sabarimala Ayyappan Temple concluded today, Saturday, December 27th, with the traditional closing ceremony. The temple doors were closed at 10:00 PM after the chanting of the Harivarasanam song.

The Mandala Pooja, marking the culmination of the pilgrimage, was performed this morning between 10:10 AM and 11:30 AM.

This year saw 30.01 lakh pilgrims visit the temple, a slight decrease compared to the 32.49 lakh who visited during the same period last year. Temple authorities attribute the drop in numbers to stricter regulations implemented for both the virtual queue booking system and spot bookings. The busiest day of the season was November 19th, with 102,299 devotees visiting the shrine.

The temple will reopen on December 30th at 5:00 PM in preparation for the Makaravilakku festival, which is scheduled to take place on January 14th. Virtual queue bookings are already full until January 10th, indicating continued high demand for darshan. Only 35,000 virtual queue slots were allocated for Mandala Pooja.

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