Thrissur, 26 August (H.S.): Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple witnessed a heavy influx of devotees on Wednesday as thousands arrived to offer prayers on Thiruvonam.

The Guruvayur Devaswom has introduced special arrangements to ensure darshan for all devotees visiting the temple. Priority will be given to those waiting in the general queue. Special darshan facilities will remain restricted from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. to facilitate smoother crowd management.

Besides the customary temple rituals, special Kazhcha Seeveli processions and traditional percussion performances will be held throughout the day. An Onappudava, the traditional festival attire, was offered to Lord Guruvayurappan at 4.30 a.m.

A special Onam prasada feast, arranged for 10,000 devotees, began at 9 a.m. The queue for the feast will close at 2 p.m., following which food will be served in a buffet system.

The festive meal includes traditional delicacies such as kalan, olan, erissery, avial, banana pradhaman, buttermilk, banana chips, pappadam and pickle. The feast is being served at the Annalakshmi Hall and an adjoining temporary pavilion. The queue leading to the hall has been arranged on the northern side of the temple pond.

Devaswom elephants Balram, Balakrishnan and Junior Vishnu will carry the ceremonial idols during the morning Kazhcha Seeveli. Indrasen, Vinayakan and Chenthamarakshan will participate in the afternoon procession, while Rajasekharan, Gopalakrishnan and Sankaranarayanan will be featured during the night Seeveli.

Kottappadi Santhosh Marar and his ensemble will lead the traditional percussion performance accompanying the morning procession. Guruvayur Sasi Marar and his team will perform during the afternoon Seeveli.

Temple and Devaswom officials have deployed additional personnel to regulate queues and assist devotees during the celebrations.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman