Vaikunta Ekadasi at Srirangam: a guide for visitors

For Sri Vaishnavas, few days matter more than Vaikunta Ekadasi, and at Srirangam it is one of the principal festivals of the year.

What Vaikunta Ekadasi celebrates

Devotional tradition

Vaikunta Ekadasi is the Ekadasi (eleventh lunar day) of the bright fortnight in the Tamil month of Margazhi. Devotees believe that on this day the gates of Vaikuntham, Vishnu's abode, open for his devotees. In many Vishnu temples a northern gate, called the Paramapada Vasal or Sorgavasal, is opened only on this occasion, and passing through it is regarded as a sign of the Lord's grace.

How the festival is structured

Documented practice

At Srirangam the celebration extends over about twenty days, in two parts: Pagal Pathu (the ten "day" days) and Ra Pathu (the ten "night" days). It is often described as a 21-day festival, counting its opening. On Vaikunta Ekadasi itself, around daybreak, Namperumal, adorned in an armour of jewels and gems, is brought from the sanctum to the thousand-pillar mandapam through the Paramapada Vasal.

The HR&CE portal places the Paramapada Vasal on the north side of the third prakaram (Kulasekaran Thiruchuttru), and the thousand-pillar mandapam in the fifth. It also notes that on the eighth day of the festival, a horse-vahanam procession called Vedupari is held on the eastern side of the fourth prakaram.

Araiyar Sevai and the hymns

The festival centres on the recitation of the Alwars' hymns, the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, before Namperumal. Srirangam is one of the few temples where Araiyar Sevai is still performed: a sung and enacted presentation of the hymns by hereditary Araiyars, traced in tradition to Nathamuni. More about Araiyar Sevai.

Traditional account

Devotees describe many further moments of the festival, such as the Lord's special adornments on particular days and enactments from the lives of the Alwars during Ra Pathu. We have not yet verified these against the temple's published festival timetable, so we do not list them here.

Visiting during Vaikunta Ekadasi

• Check the official timetable. Darshan hours change throughout the festival. The HR&CE portal links to the festival timetable; see also our timings page.
• Book early. Accommodation in Srirangam and Tiruchirappalli is in heavy demand. Note that the temple's own Devotees Stay Home was not taking bookings at our last check; see facilities.
• Expect very large crowds, particularly on Ekadasi morning. Carry water, keep valuables to a minimum and agree a meeting point with your group.
• Consider the elderly and children. Crowd density on the main day can be very high; another day of the festival may be more comfortable.

Related reading

For the rest of the temple year, see the festival calendar. To understand the prakarams the procession passes through, see the seven prakarams. For the history of the thousand-pillar mandapam, see Vijayanagara and Nayaka rebuilding.