--> Skip to main content


How is Neyyabhishekam Performed at the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple? – How is ghee offering made to Ayyappa?

Neyyabhishekam is the anointing of the murti of Ayyappa at Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple. The Ghee offering to the murti of Ayyappa is made from 4:20 AM to 11:00 AM daily when the temple is open. Those devotees who reach the sanctum sanctorum of the temple after 11:00 AM will have to wait for the next day to perform the Neyyabhishekam.

The ghee or Neyyu for the Neyyabhishekam is carried by devotees inside a coconut known as Neyyuthenga.

The coconut is then broken in the courtyard of the temple and the ghee is then collected in a vessel.

This ghee is then used to perform Neyyabhishekam. A portion of it is returned to the devotee.

Some devotees pour the ghee in a vessel kept in the sanctum sanctorum and do not wait for the ghee to be returned.

The coconut in which Ghee was carried is thrown in the huge fire pit in front of the temple.

Related