Procession of idols marking the commencement of the Navaratri festival in Thiruvananthapuram began from Padmanabhapuram Palace in Kanyakumari

Starting on Thursday, Padmanabhapuram Palace in Kanyakumari hosted the idol procession that heralded the start of Thiruvananthapuram's Navaratri celebration. During an event conducted in the Uppirika residence on the palace grounds, Director of Archaeology E. Dinesan gave the ceremonial sword to Devaswom Minister K. Radhakrishnan. Following custom, the Minister gave the sword to Kanyakumary D. Retnavel Pandian, the joint commissioner of the temple.

In attendance were Kanyakumari District Collector S.N. Sreedhar, Travancore Devaswom Board President G. Ananthagopan, Tamil Nadu Dairy Development Minister Mano Thangaraj, and Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V. Muraleedharan. After armed police units from Tamil Nadu and Kerala provided a guard of honour, the procession began its trek to Thiruvananthapuram. The idols of Sucheendram Munnootinanga and Velimala Kumara Swamy are being carried in on palanquins, while the idol of Saraswathy is being borne on an elephant. 

The idols will spend the night in Kuzhithurai's Mahadeva temple. On Friday morning, the procession will continue its trip to Kaliyikkavila, which is located on the border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala. There, it will be met by representatives from the departments of Revenue, Devaswom, and Kerala Police. The ceremonial sword will be welcomed at the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday night once the procession arrives there.

The idols of Kumaraswamy and Munnoottinanga will be housed in the Devi temple at Aryasala and the Chenthitta temple, respectively, and Saraswathy at the Navaratri mandapam, next to the eastern entrance of the temple.  On October 26, the Navaratri celebration will come to an end with a parade that will return the three idols to Padmanabhapuram.