Lord Ayyappa Puja in progress
This grand function was the culmination of Mandala Kalam that denotes 41 days starting from November 16 and ending with a grand festival on Dec 25. The stage for the function was designed in the shape of a sailboat with Ayyappa seated on top. It was set up in such a way that Lord Ayyappa was top of the eighteen holy steps with the eighteen steps docking against the sailboat with Lord Ganesha on the right and Lord Muruga on the left.
There were quite a few devotees including kids as young as three and men who had taken vratham for 41 days and prepared the Irumudi under the guidance of the Guru Swami. Carrying the Irumdis on their heads, all 31 swamis took a procession around the outer boundary of temple for three times singing the praise of Lord Ayyappa. During the third and last round, the Swamis broke one coconut at the place where Bhoomi Pooja was conducted for the proposed Ayyappa temple in May 2011. The breaking of the coconut was to denote the wish of all Ayyappa devotees for the construction to begin quickly at the same place and for the temple to be in place for the mandala season in 2012.
The Irumudi was then offered to Lord Ayyappa and Abhisekham was conducted. The highlight of the morning function was the singing of Bhajans by more than 30 kids with utmost devotion. This was followed by the padi pooja and the Raja Alankaram for Lord Ayyappa at the end of the Abhisekham. The energy of more than 1000 people chanting the praise of Lord Ayyappa was evident in the vibrations in the premise.
The evening function started with the singing of Bhajans and included the Seeveli (Light Festival) and Ayyappa Urchava Murthi Procession around the inner praharam of the temple. Ladies carry the lamp behind the Urchava Murthi of Lord Ayyappa around the temple and this has become a very popular event over the past few years. The highlight of the evening function was the Vibuthi Alankaram for Lord Ayyappa.
The chanting of sailboat, peace song and inviting Swami to devotees’ hearts followed by Harivarasanam (song to put Lord Ayyappa to sleep) marked the conclusion of the Mandala festival.
This year, the St. Louis Ayyappa Group worked with the local St. Louis area food bank to raise five barrels of food for the needy. All the kids in the group participated and took the lead in the effort. It was so popular that now the plan is to work with the St. Louis area food bank through out the year with the kids in the group taking responsibility to fill one barrel each month.
ASHWIN PATEL
