The Ashtami Rohini Vallasadya at the Aranmula Parthasarathy Temple, which brings together thousands of devotees and representatives of the palliyodams (snakeboats) from 52 karas (villages), will be held on September 4.

The feast will begin at noon, with Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K. Jayakumar lighting the ceremonial lamp. Representatives of the 52 karas will then partake in the feast on the temple premises.

A community feast will be served at the dining hall on the southern side of the temple. Special invitees will be served at the Panchajanyam auditorium, sponsors at the Krishnaveni auditorium, and representatives nominated by the karas at the Vinayaka auditorium. Separate coupons have been issued for the respective arrangements.

Preparations under way

Preparations are under way to serve the vallasadya to more than one lakh people. The fire for cooking was lit at 6.45 a.m. using the ceremonial lamp brought from the temple sanctum sanctorum. More than 600 people are involved in preparing the feast.

As is the custom, a group of devotees from Chenappady village will bring curd to the temple in a procession on Thursday. The curd will be offered at the foot of the flagstaff at 10 a.m. A special team led by Ambalappuzha Aravindakshan Nair will also prepare Ambalappuzha palpayasam, which will be served as one of the main delicacies at the feast.

The offering-based vallasadyas, which began on July 19, will continue until September 16. A total of 565 vallasadyas are scheduled this season, which organisers said is an all-time record.

The season will conclude on September 16.