Onam banner

Celebration of Kerala's Tradition & Culture

Guruvayoor Sadya

While most temples prepare Onasadya for Thiruvonam, the ones at Thrikkakara and Guruvayoor remain a favourite among the public. In the early hours of Thiruvonam, devotees queue up for nirmalya darshanam at Guruvayoor Sree Krishna Temple. The important custom here is the offering of Onapudava to the deity. The head priest is the first to present his offering to the presiding deity, followed by devotees. Onasadya is served to all the devotees in the afternoon. The penultimate day of Uthradom is when the Kazhcha Kula Samarpanam (offering of ripe plantain bunches) takes place. One portion of the presented bananas are used to prepare pradhaman - a payasam made with rice, jaggery and ripe nendran banana.


The sadya is held from 10am at Annalakshmi hall situated at the West Gate and the walkway at the northern entrance of the temple. The menu includes kalan, olan, erissery, aviyal, varutha upperi, poppadom, uppilittathu and pazha pradhaman. The sadya is available till 1pm. A large athapookalam can also be seen at the main entrance of the temple.


Payasam is also served at the Ayyappan temple in Sabarimala on the day of Thiruvonam. Onasadya is presented on a tender banana leaf as an offering to Ayyappan, the presiding deity under the initiative of the head priest at the temple.

Festival Calendar