Ashtamirohini celebrations at Guruvayur temple

Preparations are on to celebrate Sreekrishna Jayanti (Ashtami Rohini) at the Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple on Saturday.

The highlight of the festivities includes the Ashtami Rohini feast, a ritualistic mass feast, an important offering to the presiding deity. Arrangements have been made to serve as many as 20,000 devotees at the temple, Devaswom authorities informed.

A panchavadyam led by maestro Annamanada Parameshwara Marar will be held at the Guruvayur Sreekrishna Temple in the morning and evening, as part of the celebrations. Besides the usual nadaswaram recital, thayambaka and keli will be held in the evening. Vilakku Ezhunnelippu will be held at 10 pm after Athazha Puja. Krishnanattom will be staged at the Melpathur Auditorium at 10 pm. Appam worth `2.63 lakh and palpayasam worth `2.1 lakh will be prepared as part of the celebrations. Devotees can book the prasadam, the authorities said.

The Ashtami Rohini Aghosha Samithy will take out a procession, Avathara Vilambara Ghoshayatra, in Guruvayur on the eve of Ashtami Rohini, on Friday. The procession will feature various art forms, elephant processions accompanied by percussion ensembles and children dressed up as Lord Krishna.

Guruvayur Siva Krishna Bhakta Seva Sangam will start the procession on Janmashtami from the Peruthatta temple, which will converge with the procession from Guruvayur Bala Gokulam at the Mullathara Temple at 3 pm and move towards the Guruvayur temple. The Guruvayur Nair Samajam will also take out a procession from the Mammiyoor temple at 9 am.

On Janmashtami, Union Minister for Overseas Indain Affairs Vayalar Ravi will present the Guruvayurappan Kshethra Kala Puraskaram, instituted by the Guruvayur Devaswom, to Panchavadhyam wizard Annamanada Parameshwara Marar.