Navaratri idol procession to Thiruvananthapuram starts at Padmanabhapuram palace

The procession of idols of deities for the annual Navaratri festival celebrations in Thiruvananthapuram began at Padmanabhapuram palace in Kanniyakumari district on Friday (October 9, 2026).

Every year, three deities, Goddess Munnuditha Nangai Amman from Suchindram, Lord Kumaraswamy of Kumaracoil and Goddess Saraswathi from Thevarakattu at Padmanabhapuram palace, are taken in a ceremonial procession to Thiruvananthapuram for the Navaratri celebrations.

The procession carrying Goddess Munnuditha Nangai Amman began with armed honours accorded by the Tamil Nadu and Kerala Police and reached Kalkulam Neelakandeswarar Temple at Padmanabhapuram, where the deity stayed overnight. Lord Kumaraswamy, who departed from Kumaracoil in the early hours of Friday, also reached Neelakandeswarar Temple, with the procession beginning with armed hours by the police from both States.

The ceremonial transfer of royal sword, which traditionally accompanies the deities during the procession, took place in the palace on Friday. A palace official handed over the sword to Kerala Devaswom Minister K. Muraleedharan, who handed it over to Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (Kanniyakumari) Jancy Rani.

Mohan Kumar, manager of Kumaracoil, who is responsible for carrying the sword during the procession, received it from Tamil Nadu government representatives.

Following the ceremonial transfer of sword, Goddess Munnuditha Nangai Amman and Lord Kumaraswamy reached Padmanabhapuram palace, where they joined Goddess Saraswathi for the onward journey to Thiruvananthapuram.

The procession is scheduled to reach Mahadevar Temple in Kuzhithurai on Friday night. It will depart from Kuzhithurai on Saturday and continue towards Thiruvananthapuram, and will be received by Kerala government representatives at Kaliyakkavilai border.

Kanniyakumari District Collector M. Prathap, Superintendent of Police Anshul Nagar and other officials were present.