Hariharaputra · The lord of Sabarimala

Ayyappa

Lord Ayyappa, son of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu, sits in meditation at Sabarimala, where pilgrims climb eighteen holy steps to see him. The Mandala season opens in mid-November and ends with Makaravilakku in January: keep the 41-day vratam, chant his name, and see this season’s dates.

His day
Saturday
Next: Sat 7 Nov
Next Ayyappa day
The Mandala begins
In 16 days · Tue 17 Nov

Step 1 of 18 · The five senses

Chakshu, sight

The eyes, first of the five senses. On the first five steps the pilgrim leaves behind the pull of the senses, beginning with all that the eyes long for.

Tap a step, or its number, to read what it stands for, from the first at the foot to the eighteenth at the shrine. This is one traditional reading of the steps, and accounts differ: others see in them the eighteen hills round Sabarimala, the eighteen Puranas, or eighteen weapons he is said to have carried. By the temple’s custom only pilgrims who have kept the vratam and carry the irumudi on their head climb the steps, and many break a coconut at their foot.

His days, in your city

Dates and puja times for the city you pick

For New Delhi

Next Ayyappa day · In 16 days

The Mandala begins

Tuesday 17 November 2026

The first of Vrischikam: Sabarimala opens the evening before, and many put on the mala and begin the 41-day vratam.

Mandala Kalam begins →Full panchang for this day →

Every Saturday
Sat 7 NovHis day of the week
Mandala Pooja
Sun 27 Dec
Makaravilakku
Thu 14 Jan
Vishu
Wed 14 Apr

Chant to him

Shasta Pancharatnam · the first verse

लोकवीरं महापूज्यं सर्वरक्षाकरं विभुम्।
पार्वतीहृदयानन्दं शास्तारं प्रणमाम्यहम्॥

Lokaviram mahapujyam, sarvarakshakaram vibhum,
Parvati hridayanandam, Shastaram pranamamyaham.

The hero of the worlds, most worthy of worship, the lord everywhere who protects all, the joy of Parvati’s heart: I bow to Shasta.

जो सब लोकों के वीर हैं, सबसे अधिक पूजनीय हैं, सबकी रक्षा करने वाले सर्वव्यापी प्रभु हैं, और माता पार्वती के हृदय का आनंद हैं, उन शास्ता को मैं प्रणाम करता हूँ।

Five verses to Shasta, each ending “Shastaram pranamamyaham”, I bow to Shasta, chanted in homes and at his shrines through the season. At Sabarimala each night ends with Harivarasanam, sung as the temple closes.

His prayers

  • HarivarasanamHis lullaby, sung as Sabarimala closes each nightSoon
  • Shasta PancharatnamFive verses in SanskritSoon

Keeping the 41-day vratam

Pilgrims to Sabarimala keep a vow, the vratam, for 41 days before they go, and many keep it at home without making the journey. Follow your guru swami, the experienced pilgrim who leads your group, where his way differs.

  1. Put on the mala of tulasi or rudraksha beads, from your guru swami or at a temple; from now on you are called Swami.
  2. Wear black, blue or saffron, go barefoot where you can, and bathe and pray morning and evening.
  3. Keep to vegetarian food, with no alcohol or tobacco, and keep celibacy for the 41 days.
  4. Speak gently, keep away from anger, and greet everyone as Swami.
  5. Chant Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa, and join your group’s evening bhajans.
  6. Before setting out, fill the irumudi at the kettunira ceremony, and carry it on your head all the way up the eighteen steps.

What you need

  • A mala of tulasi or rudraksha beads
  • Black, blue or saffron clothes
  • The irumudi: a cloth bundle of two parts, carried on the head
  • In its front part, a coconut filled with ghee for his abhishekam, with other offerings
  • In its back part, food for the journey
  • Camphor, incense and a lamp for daily prayer

Who is Ayyappa

Lord Ayyappa, also called Dharma Shasta and Manikandan, is the son of Lord Shiva and of Lord Vishnu in the form of Mohini, the enchantress, and so is known as Hariharaputra, the son of Hari and Hara. At Sabarimala, a forest shrine high in the Western Ghats of Kerala, he is worshipped as a yogi who keeps a lifelong vow of celibacy.

By tradition he was born to defeat the demoness Mahishi, whom only a son of Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu could overcome. King Rajasekhara of Pandalam found him as a baby by the Pampa river, a bell round his neck, and raised him as his own son. When his work was done he went to Sabarimala, where he sits in meditation still.

Millions climb to him in the Mandala and Makaravilakku season, from mid-November to mid-January, after keeping a 41-day vow. Every pilgrim is called Swami, like the god himself, and over his shrine are written the words “Tat Tvam Asi”, you are That.

  • Dharma Shasta the teacher and keeper of dharma
  • Hariharaputra the son of Hari and Hara, Lord Vishnu and Lord Shiva
  • Manikandan with a bell at his throat
  • Bhutanatha lord of all beings
  • Sabarigirisha lord of the Sabari hill
  • Ayyan the master, as Kerala calls him
His mantra

Swamiye Sharanam Ayyappa

Swami Ayyappa, you are my refuge. Pilgrims call it as they walk, as they climb the steps and as they greet one another.

हे स्वामी अय्यप्पा, आप ही मेरी शरण हैं। यात्री चलते हुए, सीढ़ियाँ चढ़ते हुए और एक दूसरे से मिलते हुए यही पुकारते हैं।

A short prayer to start · from the Shasta Pancharatnam

पाण्ड्येशवंशतिलकं केरले केलिविग्रहम्।
आर्तत्राणपरं देवं शास्तारं प्रणमाम्यहम्॥

Pandyesha vamsha tilakam, Kerale keli vigraham,
Artatrana param devam, Shastaram pranamamyaham.

The jewel of the line of the Pandya kings, who took form in Kerala in play, the god whose whole care is to save those in distress: I bow to Shasta.

जो पाण्ड्य राजाओं के वंश के तिलक हैं, जिन्होंने लीला के लिए केरल में रूप धारण किया, और जो दुखियों की रक्षा में ही लगे रहते हैं, उन देव शास्ता को मैं प्रणाम करता हूँ।

The Sabarimala season, 2026 to 2027

Expected dates, by the Kerala calendar

The great season at Sabarimala is the Mandala, 41 days from the first day of the Malayalam month of Vrischikam, then the days to Makaravilakku in January. Pilgrims time their vratam to end in the season.

  1. Monday 16 November 2026, evening

    The temple opens

    The sanctum is opened for the Mandala season.

  2. Tuesday 17 November

    The Mandala begins

    The first of Vrischikam: many put on the mala today and begin the 41-day vratam.

  3. Sunday 27 December

    Mandala Pooja

    The 41st day, when his golden robe, the thanka anki, is brought in procession. The temple closes that night.

  4. Wednesday 30 December

    The temple reopens

    For the days to Makaravilakku.

  5. Thursday 14 January 2027

    Makaravilakku

    On the day the Sun enters Makara his sacred ornaments, the Thiruvabharanam, arrive from Pandalam, and at dusk pilgrims watch for the Makara Jyothi.

  6. About 20 January 2027

    The season closes

    The temple shuts after the last pujas, to open again for the first days of the next Malayalam month.

The Travancore Devaswom Board, which runs the temple, announces the exact dates and hours, and asks pilgrims to book a darshan time through its Virtual Queue before they set out.

What his symbols mean

  • His seat

    He sits with his knees raised and held by a band of cloth, the yogapatta: a yogi deep in meditation.

  • The chin mudra

    His right hand joins thumb and forefinger: the self at one with the Supreme.

  • The bell at his throat

    Found round his neck as a baby by the Pampa, it gave him the name Manikandan.

  • The tiger

    From the story of the tigress’s milk, when he came home to Pandalam riding a tigress.

  • The eighteen steps

    Climbed only after the vow: each step a part of the self left behind on the way to the god.

  • “Tat Tvam Asi”

    The words of the Upanishad over his shrine, “you are That”: the pilgrim and the god are one.

His stories

The son of Shiva and Mohini

After the churning of the ocean, Lord Vishnu took the form of Mohini, the enchantress. From Lord Shiva and Mohini a son was born, the one child of both gods, who alone could defeat the demoness Mahishi.

The child by the Pampa

King Rajasekhara of Pandalam had no children. Hunting by the Pampa river, he heard a baby crying and found a shining boy with a bell round his neck. He took him home as his son and named him Manikandan.

The tigress’s milk

When the queen, misled by a minister, feigned an illness that only a tigress’s milk could cure, the boy went alone into the forest. He came back riding a tigress, with her cubs behind him, and the king knew his son was a god.

Mahishi and Malikappurathamma

Lord Ayyappa defeated Mahishi, and in one telling a young woman rose from her, freed of the curse. She wished to marry him; he promised to wed her in the year no new pilgrim came to him. She waits still as Malikappurathamma, at her shrine beside his.

Vavar, his friend

Vavar, a warrior often told of as a Muslim, met Lord Ayyappa as a foe and became his close friend. Pilgrims honour him at the Vavar shrine in Erumeli and at Vavarunada by the eighteen steps.

Across India

Kerala

Sabarimala in Pathanamthitta district, the shrines of Kulathupuzha, Aryankavu and Achankovil, and Pandalam, where his foster father reigned. At Erumeli pilgrims dance the petta thullal, faces painted, before the climb.

Tamil Nadu

Pilgrims set out in their lakhs each season, and Shasta is worshipped in many temples. Many see him in Ayyanar, the guardian of the villages.

Karnataka

Groups keep the vratam together and meet each evening for bhajans; many hold a padi pooja before the journey, with eighteen steps lit by lamps.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

Ayyappa deeksha is kept widely, and through November and December swamis in black are seen in every town.

His temples

  • Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha TempleSabarimala, Pathanamthitta, Kerala
  • Pandalam Valiya Koyikkal TemplePandalam, Pathanamthitta, Kerala
  • Erumeli Sree Dharma Sastha TempleErumeli, Kottayam, Kerala
  • Kulathupuzha Sree Dharma Sastha TempleKulathupuzha, Kollam, Kerala
  • Aryankavu Sree Dharma Sastha TempleAryankavu, Kollam, Kerala
  • Achankovil Sree Dharma Sastha TempleAchankovil, Kollam, Kerala

Questions

When does the Sabarimala season start in 2026?

The temple is expected to open on the evening of Monday 16 November 2026, with the Mandala beginning the next day. Mandala Pooja is expected on 27 December and Makaravilakku on 14 January 2027. The Travancore Devaswom Board announces the exact dates; book a darshan time through its Virtual Queue.

What is the 41-day vratam?

A vow kept for 41 days, the Mandala, before the pilgrimage: wearing the mala, dressing in black, blue or saffron, eating vegetarian food, keeping celibacy, and praying morning and evening.

What do the 18 steps mean?

In one traditional reading, the first five are the senses, the next eight are the passions, then the three gunas, and the last two knowledge and ignorance. Others see the eighteen hills round Sabarimala, or the eighteen Puranas.

Who may climb the 18 steps?

By the temple’s custom, only pilgrims who have kept the vratam and carry the irumudi on their head climb the eighteen steps. Others reach the shrine by another path.

Can women go to Sabarimala?

By the temple’s custom, women between about 10 and 50 do not make the pilgrimage, as Lord Ayyappa is worshipped at Sabarimala as a lifelong celibate; girls and older women go, and are called Malikappuram. The custom has been the subject of cases in the Supreme Court of India.

Why is Lord Ayyappa called Hariharaputra?

Because he is the son of Hari, Lord Vishnu, in the form of Mohini, and of Hara, Lord Shiva.

What is Harivarasanam?

The lullaby in Sanskrit sung to him each night as Sabarimala closes. It is usually credited to Kumbakudi Kulathur Iyer, and the family of Konnakathu Janaki Amma says she wrote it, around 1920. The recording played at the closing is sung by K. J. Yesudas.

Which day is Lord Ayyappa’s?

Saturday in many homes. Sabarimala opens for the Mandala and Makaravilakku season, for Vishu, and for the first days of every Malayalam month.