Tirumala Pushpayagam on November 16: TTD cancels three sevas for flower festival

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which runs the Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, will perform the annual Pushpayagam, a ritual offering of flowers to the deity, on Monday, 16 November 2026. The temple body has said the preliminary ritual, Ankurarpanam, will be held the evening before, on Sunday, 15 November, between 6 pm and 8 pm. To make room for the festival, TTD has cancelled three paid daytime services on 16 November: the Arjita Kalyanotsavam, the Unjal Seva and the Arjita Brahmotsavam.

Tirumala is one of the most visited Hindu shrines in the world, and its calendar of rituals shapes the travel plans of lakhs of pilgrims. Many devotees book paid services, called arjita sevas, months in advance, so a cancellation notice matters in practical terms: anyone who hoped to attend the Kalyanotsavam, Unjal Seva or Arjita Brahmotsavam on 16 November will not be able to do so that day.

According to temple tradition, the Pushpayagam is held every year after the Brahmotsavam, the temple's main annual festival, on the day of the Sravana nakshatra in the month of Karthika. The Sravana star is regarded in tradition as the birth star of Lord Venkateswara. TTD's executive officer has described the ritual as an act of atonement for any errors that may have crept into daily worship through the year, and as a prayer for the protection of the earth from natural calamities. These are statements of belief and tradition, set out by the temple body, not claims that can be tested.

The festival is also a large logistical exercise. The flowers must be fresh and fragrant under the rules of the ritual, and in recent years they have been measured in tonnes. A report on the 2025 Pushpayagam put the quantity at about nine tonnes, and older reports spoke of around seven tonnes of 14 varieties. TTD has not yet given a figure for 2026 in the reports available so far, so this year's quantity is not known.

Peepals timeline: The order of the festival, as set out in the announcements, is: Sunday, 15 November, 6 pm to 8 pm: Ankurarpanam, the opening ritual. Monday, 16 November, before the main offering: a ceremonial bath of the deities. Monday, 16 November, 1 pm to 5 pm: the floral offering itself, the Pushpayagam. Monday evening: the Sahasra Deepalankara Seva, followed by a procession of the deities around the four Mada streets.

Short-term: Pilgrims at Tirumala on 16 November will find three paid services suspended for the day, while the afternoon floral ritual and the evening procession will draw crowds to the temple and the Mada streets.

Long-term: The Pushpayagam is one of a set of annual festivals at Tirumala that follow the Brahmotsavam. Its regular place in the calendar, tied to the Sravana star in Karthika, means its date shifts each year, and pilgrims planning around it rely on TTD's announcement.

Who is affected: Devotees who had planned to book or attend the Arjita Kalyanotsavam, Unjal Seva or Arjita Brahmotsavam on 16 November; pilgrims visiting Tirumala that weekend; and the temple's staff, priests and flower suppliers.

What to watch next: Ankurarpanam on the evening of Sunday, 15 November, and the floral offering from 1 pm on Monday, 16 November.

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