mandala season
मण्डल पूजा
📅 Opens: Tuesday, 17 November 2026 · Closes: Sunday, 27 December 2026
The 41-day Mandala season opens on 17 November 2026. Sabarimala temple is open through 27 December 2026 culminating in the Mandala Pooja. The traditional opening of the Sabarimala pilgrimage year.
Mandala (मण्डल) is a 41-day period of intense spiritual discipline and Sabarimala's flagship season. The number 41 reflects the duration of the traditional vratham every pilgrim undertakes before darshan. The Mandala Pooja on the closing day is one of the year's two most important poojas at Sannidhanam.
Daily opening (Sannidhanam)
Morning
4:00 AM → 1:00 PM
Evening
3:30 PM → 10:30 PM
Hours are indicative — devotees should verify against the latest TDB announcement closer to the date. Hours can shift on specific ritual days.
Key dates within the season
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16 Nov 2026
Temple opens for Mandala season
Evening pooja marks the start of the 41-day window.
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17 Nov 2026
Mandala vratham officially begins for new pilgrims
Devotees taking maladharanam this season formally begin their 41-day discipline.
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26 Dec 2026
Mandala Pooja day
The keystone pooja of the season — Padipooja and Deeparadhana.
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27 Dec 2026
Temple closes after Mandala season
Brief closure before Makaravilakku opening on 30 December.
The Mandala season is when most Sabarimala pilgrims time their darshan. Lakhs of devotees from Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and beyond converge on Sannidhanam during this 41-day window.
For first-time pilgrims, this is the traditional season for maladharanam — donning the sacred mala that marks the start of the 41-day vratham. The local temple priest (in our case the Tantri at Sree Ayyappa Temple, Yeshwanthpur) performs this initiation.
The Mandala Pooja on 26 December is the climactic ritual — Padipooja on the 18 sacred steps (Pathinettam Padi) and Deeparadhana before Lord Ayyappa’s idol.
Verify dates
Mandala dates may shift by a day in either direction based on the official TDB announcement. Always verify on sabarimalaonline.org before finalising travel.
Official source: https://sabarimalaonline.org/