Ashtami Rohini Vallasadya, the annual ritualistic mass feast, was held with traditional fervour at Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula on Saturday.
Thousands of people, including the crew of 51 Palliyodams (snakeboats), partook of the sumptuous feast served in plantain leaves spread on the sprawling temple premises on the banks of the Pampa.
According to the Palliyoda Seva Sanghom (PSS) that organises the mega feast in association with the Travancore Devaswom Board, not less than 50,000 people have had the feast.
The entire atmosphere was charged with devotion as Vanchippattu, hymns in praise of Lord Parthasarathy, rented the air. Oarsmen from 51 ‘karas’ (village units) in and around Aranmula arrived on their Palliyodams to have the ceremonial feast. The Thekkemuri Palliyodam was the first to reach the temple ghats. The boat crew were accorded a traditional reception.
The Vallasadya began immediately after the Utchapuja at the temple. TDB president M.P. Govindan Nair inaugurated the feast by lighting a ceremonial lamp. State Police Chief T.P. Senumar, P.K. Kumaran, TDB member; C.P. Ramaraja Prasad, Devaswom Commissioner; Ravikumar, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax; and T. Narayanan, Superintendent of Police, attended the function.
According to K.G. Sasidharan Pillai, PSS president, and P.R. Radhakrishnan, secretary, a total of 54 dishes were served at the feast.
