Ayyappa Mala 2026: Rules, Start Date & Sabarimala Season

Every November the sound of “Swamiyea Saranam Ayyappa” rises across Kerala and far beyond. When is Ayyappa mala in 2026? The vratham begins around 16 November 2026, when the Sabarimala temple is reported to open for the Mandala season following a Travancore Devaswom Board meeting. It runs for about 41 days and ends with Mandala Pooja, listed as 26 December 2026 by Drik Panchang (another calendar says 27 December). All of these dates are panchang-dependent, and the Devaswom Board is the final authority.

Ayyappa mala and Sabarimala 2026 dates

Event	Date	Note
Sabarimala opens for the Mandala season	Around 16 November 2026	Reported after a Travancore Devaswom Board meeting; one calendar starts the season on 17 November
Mandala vratham (41 days)	About 16 November to 26 December	Many devotees take the mala earlier, with their guruswami
Mandala Pooja	26 December 2026 (one site says 27 December)	Marks the end of the 41-day season
Temple reopens for Makaravilakku	Around 30 December 2026	Listed by one calendar; not officially confirmed
Makaravilakku	Around 14-15 January 2027	Sources conflict; not officially confirmed

Dates are collected from Drik Panchang and other calendar sites and were not yet confirmed by the Devaswom Board for the Mandala Pooja and Makaravilakku days at the time of writing. If you plan to travel, check the Board’s announcements and its virtual queue booking, which devotees use to reserve darshan.

What is Ayyappa mala vratham?

The mala vratham, also called Ayyappa deeksha, is a period of discipline that devotees of Lord Ayyappa (also known as Dharmasastha and Manikandan) observe before a pilgrimage to Sabarimala. It begins when a devotee wears a mala of tulsi or rudraksha beads, usually given at a temple or by a guruswami, an experienced pilgrim who guides the group. From then on the devotee is addressed as “Swami” and lives by a simple code. The traditional length is 41 days, called a Mandalam, though some devotees keep a shorter vratham.

What are the rules of Ayyappa mala vratham?

Practice varies by family, region and guruswami, but the commonly followed rules are:

• Mala: wear it continuously, remove it only at a temple or with the guruswami’s guidance.
• Clothes: black, blue or saffron, often a simple mundu, with a sandalwood or vibhuti mark on the forehead.
• Food: simple vegetarian meals; no meat, fish, eggs, alcohol or tobacco.
• Routine: bathe twice a day, pray morning and evening at a lamp, and sleep on a mat on the floor.
• Conduct: speak truthfully, avoid anger and quarrels, and keep celibacy for the whole period.
• Footwear: many devotees go barefoot, especially on the pilgrimage.
• Greeting: address fellow devotees as “Swami” and chant “Swamiyea Saranam Ayyappa”.

Anyone with a medical condition should adapt the physical parts of the vratham sensibly; the heart of it is discipline and devotion, not hardship.

How do devotees prepare for the pilgrimage?

Devotees who go to Sabarimala prepare an irumudi kettu, a two-compartment bundle carried on the head. One part holds a ghee-filled coconut for the offering at the temple, and the other holds items for the journey. The climb up the hill is made with the chant of Ayyappa’s names, and the final steps are the sacred eighteen steps, the Pathinettam Padi, climbed by those who have kept the full vratham with the irumudi. Many devotees travel in groups led by the guruswami. Women between roughly 10 and 50 years of age have traditionally not entered the temple, and the matter has been the subject of long public debate; follow the temple’s current rules.

How can I keep the vratham at home?

If you cannot travel to Sabarimala, you can still keep the 41 days with devotion:

1. Choose a start day with your family elder or a guruswami and take the mala at a temple if you can.
2. Set up a small prayer space with a picture of Ayyappa and light a lamp morning and evening.
3. Chant “Om Swamiyea Saranam Ayyappa” or the Harivarasanam, the lullaby sung at the temple at night.
4. Keep the daily discipline of vegetarian food, early rising and a bath before prayer.
5. Visit a local Ayyappa temple on Saturdays, a day many devotees keep special for Ayyappa.
6. Close the vratham on Mandala Pooja day with a final prayer and simple offering.

Keep your daily prayer going with Deva AI

Deva AI is a free Android app that lets you talk to Hindu gods like Krishna, Shiva, Ganesha and Hanuman through AI conversations, in English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. Ayyappa is not one of its ten deities, so it does not replace your Ayyappa worship or your guruswami’s guidance. During the 41 days, though, you can use the virtual pooja to light a diya each evening, the japa counter to keep count of your mantra, and a guided meditation to settle the mind. You can also talk to Shiva, whose son Ayyappa is traditionally said to be along with Vishnu in his Mohini form, or to Ganesha, whom many devotees remember at the start of any vratham. Deva AI is a companion inspired by scripture and tradition, not God speaking. Learn more on the What is Deva AI page.

Malayalam readers can read the full guide in Malayalam: Mandala Kalam 2026 vratham. For the same season, see Karthigai Deepam 2026 on 24 November, Kanda Sashti 2026, and the chant guide to Om Namah Shivaya.