The day at Palani
NEXT TODAY · 8:30 pm – 9:00 pm TEMPLE TIME
Rakaala pooja · Pushpa alankaram
The hill shrine's published opening runs from 5:45 am to 8:00 pm, while the last service of the day is listed at 8:30 pm. Allow time for the winding path, the steps or the winch before the kalam you want to attend.
Poojas and alankarams
Palani is the temple where the adornment itself tells the story. Dhandayuthapani stands as the renunciate who gave up everything, and through a single day he is dressed in six different aspects, the ascetic at dawn, the hunter, the child, the healer, the king at evening and finally a covering of flowers. Many devotees plan their darshan around one particular alankaram rather than around a time of day.
6:40 am – 7:15 am
Vilaa pooja
Sadhu / Sanniyasi alankaram
The renunciate, as he stood when he left Kailash: holding the staff, with almost nothing else.
8:00 am – 8:30 am
Sirukala Shanthi pooja
Vedar alankaram
The hunter of the hills, in the form the forest people of this country knew.
9:00 am – 9:30 am
Kalasandhi pooja
Balasubramaniyar alankaram
The child.
12:00 pm – 12:45 pm
Uchikkala pooja
Vaithekal alankaram
The healer. The midday service, and the one associated with the hill's tradition of medicine.
5:30 pm – 6:15 pm
Sayaraksha pooja
Raja alankaram
The king, in royal robes and jewels. The best known adornment of the day, and the busiest darshan.
8:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Rakaala pooja
Pushpa alankaram
The flower adornment that closes the day.
Published by the temple administration · checked September 19, 2026. Times are the temple’s published schedule, not a guarantee. Services move with the calendar, the crowd and the priests’ discretion, so confirm before you travel for a particular kalam.
Festival days are different
·
The temple's own notice states that on the ten days of Thaipusam, the ten days of Panguni Uthiram, the ten days of Kanda Sashti, monthly Karthigai, Maha Deepa Karthigai, Thai Pongal, the Tamil and English new year, every day of Margazhi and Deepavali, the shrine opens at 4:00 am and closes after 9:00 pm, depending on the number of devotees.
Words used above
Kalam
One of the fixed worship periods of the day. A temple's day is divided into kalams, and each one is a complete service rather than a passing moment.
Abhishekam
The ritual bathing of the deity, with water, milk, sandal, honey and other offerings.
Alankaram
The adornment that follows the bathing: the robes, jewels, sandal and flowers in which Murugan is dressed for that kalam. Several temples give each kalam its own named alankaram, so the same deity is seen in a different aspect through the day.
Deeparadhanai
The waving of lamps that closes a service, when the adorned deity is shown to those standing before the sanctum.
Palliyarai
The night service in the bedchamber, when the processional deity is brought to rest and the temple closes.