The 10-day Painkuni festival at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple concluded with the Arat to the Padmatheertham, the sacred pond in front of the iconic temple, for the ritualistic immersion of the idols on Saturday evening.
In adherence to the COVID-19 protocol, the traditional Arat procession’ carrying the idols on ‘garuda vahanas’ to the Shanghumughom beach via the Arat road and the tarmac of the Thiruvananthapuram international airport was avoided for the first time.
Instead, the idols of Sree Padmanabhaswamy, Thiruvambadi Krishna, and Narasimhamoorthy carried by priests were taken out through the eastern gate of the temple to Padmatheertham around 6 p.m.
Moolam Tirunal Rama Varma, head of the ruling family of the erstwhile Travancore, led the procession wearing the traditional green cap and carrying the ceremonial sword. Other male members of the family accompanied him. Tantri…