Makaravilakku Festival

December 13, 2023

GS Paper I Art and Culture

Context: A project for Sabarimala pilgrims during the Makaravilakku festival was recognised among the top interventions from across the country for improving road safety.

Safe Zone Sabarimala: A Kerala’s Sabarimala Road Safety Project

Road Safety Project: A project for the Makaravilakku festival, designed by the Kerala government’s Motor Vehicle Department (MVD) resulted in a 100% reduction in road fatalities.
Measures Undertaken by Kerala’s MVD: A slew of measures were implemented for ensuring road safety which included:
- Deployment of personnel on the ground for ensuring parking discipline, tending to vehicle pile-ups and crashes.
- Ground personnel were aided by three 24/7 control rooms with communication facilities.
- Ambulance services are also ensured to provide emergency medical care.
- There were also awareness campaigns conducted in 6 languages distributed at major check posts and toll booths.

Sabarimala Temple Verdict

Customary Practice: Women in their ‘menstruating years’ (between the ages of 10 to 50) were customarily prohibited from entering the temple to protect celibacy.
2006: Indian Young Lawyers Association filed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition before the Supreme Court (SC) challenging the Sabarimala Temple’s prohibition of women from the temple premises.
2008: The matter was referred to a 3-Judge Bench.
2017: The Court expressed its inclination to refer the case to a Constitution Bench and ordered a 5-Judge Constitution Bench to pass Judgement on the case.
2018: A 4:1 majority held that the prohibition of women at the Sabarimala Temple is unconstitutional as exclusion of women violated the fundamental rights of women between the ages of 10 to 50 years.

About Makaravilakku Festival

Makaravilakku: It is a religious festival of Kerala, held every year during Makar Sankranti at the Sabarimala Temple.
Makara Vilakku Meaning: Makara is the Zodiac sign of Makara (Capricorn) and Vilakku means light.
Deeparadhana: It is performed to mark the beginning of Makaravilakku after which a star is visible to the east of the shrine.
- This marks the auspicious time of the sun moving from Dakshinayanam (south) to Utharanayanam (north).

Makaravilakku

Procession: The celebrations include a procession of the sacred ornaments of Lord Ayyappan (known as Thiruvabharanam), which is brought in a procession from Pandalam palace to the temple at Sabarimala.
Ritual: Devotees observe a compulsory 41 days of austerities and fast before visiting the Ayyappa Swami temple for Makara Vilakku festival.
- Thousands of devotees of Lord Ayyappa gather at the temple to see light or flame (which is Makarvilakku) that appears thrice on the Ponnambalamedu hill.
About Lord Ayyappa (Ayyappa Swami): He is said to be the son of Lord Shiva and Mohini, the only female form of Lord Vishnu.
- Ayyappa Swami is highly regarded and worshiped by devotees all over India.
- His temple at Sabarimala is a pilgrim site.