Thai Pusam falls when the star Pusam (Pushya) rules the day in the month of Thai, usually at the full moon. It belongs to Murugan, the god Tamils call their own, and marks the day Parvati gave him the Vel, the spear with which he destroyed the demon Surapadman. Pilgrims walk for days to his hill temples carrying kavadi, and the festival is kept wherever Tamils have settled, from Malaysia to Mauritius.
The story
The kavadi comes from Idumban, a demon turned devotee. Asked by the sage Agastya to carry two hills south, he slung them from a pole across his shoulders. When he set them down at Palani to rest he could not lift them again: a boy standing on one of them claimed it. The boy was Murugan, and Idumban asked that whoever carried a kavadi to the hill as he had should be blessed.
The day is also sacred to Shiva, who danced at Chidambaram on Thai Pusam, and to the nineteenth-century saint Ramalinga Vallalar, who is honoured at Vadalur with the viewing of the light.
வெற்றிவேல் முருகனுக்கு அரோகரா!
To Murugan of the victorious Vel: Arohara!
The cry of the pilgrims on the road
How it is kept
- Paada yatraPilgrims in green or saffron walk barefoot to Palani and other temples, sometimes for a week or more.
- KavadiAn arched wooden frame decked with peacock feathers is carried on the shoulders, with pots of milk at either end.
- Paal kudamPots of milk are carried on the head to bathe the image.
- VowsHeads are shaved, and some devotees pierce cheeks or tongue with a small vel.
- PanchamirthamThe offering of Palani: banana, jaggery, ghee, honey and cardamom.
Why this date
Thai Pusam is the day in the solar month of Thai on which the star Pusam (Pushya) is present at sunrise. It usually coincides with the full moon, or falls within a day of it.
Thai Pusam in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday | |
| 2027 | Saturday | |
| 2028 | Wednesday | |
| 2029 | Tuesday | |
| 2030 | Sunday | |
| 2031 | Thursday |
More Tamil festivals
15 JanuaryThai Pongalதைப்பொங்கல்
22 MarchPanguni Uthiramபங்குனி உத்திரம்
6 MarchMaha Shivaratriமகா சிவராத்திரி
16 JanuaryMattu Pongalமாட்டுப் பொங்கல்
13 FebruaryRatha Saptamiரத சப்தமி
14 JanuaryBhogiபோகி
Where to see Thai Pusam
In Tamil Nadu
- PalaniTamil NaduThe centre of the festival: lakhs arrive on foot, and the golden chariot is drawn round the hill.
- TiruchendurTamil NaduThe shore temple, the only one of the six abodes not on a hill.
- VadalurTamil NaduAt Vallalar's Sathya Gnana Sabha seven curtains are drawn back to show the flame.
- ChidambaramTamil NaduWhere Shiva is said to have danced for the sages on this day.
Across India
- Kukke SubramanyaKarnatakaThe chief Subrahmanya temple of Karnataka, in the Western Ghats.
- HaripadKeralaA large Subrahmanya temple in Alappuzha district, where kavadi processions fill the town.
- TirumalaAndhra PradeshA full-moon Garuda procession on the hill.