Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple Maha Kumbabishekam 2026
Seventeen years on, the maha kumbabishekam of the Madurai Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple falls on 17 September 2026. The festival opened with the shanti homam on 8 September.
Maha Kumbabishekam · 17 September 2026
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- 7.40am Golden vimanams and rajagopurams done
- 7.55am Meenakshi Amman sanctum done
- 8.10am Sundareswarar sanctum done
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What is a kumbabishekam, and why seventeen years since 2009?
What the rite means, the twelve ritual sessions, the 2018 fire and the court-monitored restoration.
The three muhurthams
7.40 the golden vimanams, 7.55 Meenakshi Amman, 8.10 Sundareswarar.
The full programme
Every rite from 8 to 17 September, day by day.
Darshan suspended
No moolavar darshan for six days, 11 to 16 September.
Live coverage
The broadcast and minute-by-minute updates from the morning of 17 September.
2009 — then and now
Our own archive from the last consecration.
Ritual calendar All days
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8 September · Aavani 22 · Tuesday
The festival opens
The festival opens with the shanti homam. Vasthu shanti follows in the evening at the Veeravasantharayar Mandapam.
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9 September · Aavani 23 · Wednesday
Sacred water and earth from the Vaigai
Both sessions are held at the Vaigai river — sacred water is drawn in the morning, sacred earth gathered in the evening.
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10 September · Aavani 24 · Thursday
Mulaipari and the protective thread
The acharyas take the ten-fold purificatory bath at the golden lotus tank; ankurarpanam follows at the main yagasala in the evening.
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11 September · Aavani 25 · Friday Key day
The yagasala is raised; the first kalam begins
The yagasala is constructed and fire is drawn from the sun. The first of the twelve ritual sessions begins that evening at the Kambathadi Mandapam.
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12 September · Aavani 26 · Saturday
Second and third kalams
The second ritual session in the morning, the third in the evening.
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13 September · Aavani 27 · Sunday
Fourth and fifth kalams
A Sunday, and heavier crowds are expected.
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14 September · Aavani 28 · Monday Key day
Sixth and seventh kalams; purification of the parivara images
In the evening session the parivara deities, beginning with Vinayakar, undergo bimbasuddhi and rakshabandhanam.
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15 September · Aavani 29 · Tuesday
Eighth and ninth kalams
Two days out from the kumbabishekam; the ritual sessions continue.
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16 September · Aavani 30 · Wednesday Key day
Maha kumbabishekam of the parivara deities
The parivara deities receive their maha kumbabishekam at 5am. Nadisandhanam follows in the evening, and Lord Subramaniya Swamy of Thirupparankundram arrives in Madurai.
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17 September · Aavani 31 · Thursday Key day
Maha Kumbabishekam
The maha kumbabishekam falls in three muhurtham moments — 7.40, 7.55 and 8.10 in the morning. The moolavar maha abhishekam follows in the afternoon and the five deities process along Masi Veedhi at night.
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