Tiruchanur Karthika Brahmotsavam — Panchami Theertham 14 Dec (2026)

Tiruchanur's Karthika Brahmotsavam for Sri Padmavathi Ammavaru runs from Sunday 6 to Monday 14 December 2026, ending with Panchami Theertham in the Padma Sarovaram. TTD fixed the window on 24 September 2026 and expects a crowd 15–20% larger than last year. Here is the day-by-day schedule, vahana timings, and how to pair it with Tirumala, 5 km away.

📅 The 2026 schedule, day by day

TTD Joint Executive Officer Dr A. Sharath set the festival window as 5 to 14 December 2026 at a review on 24 September. Saturday 5 December is Ankurarpanam, the evening sowing of seeds that opens every Brahmotsavam, and Sunday 6 December is Dwajarohanam, the flag hoisting. The eve of Ankurarpanam traditionally also carries a Laksha Kumkumarchana at the temple.

The vahana order below follows TTD's 2025 list, which ran 17 to 25 November last year. TTD usually releases the 2026 day-wise sheet a few weeks before the festival, so treat the vahanams as the expected order and the dates as confirmed.

After Dwajavarohanam on the evening of 14 December, the temple customarily holds Pushpayagam the next day, which would be Tuesday 15 December. Panchami Theertham morning also brings the Srivari Saare, the Lord's gifts to Ammavaru, carried on temple elephants around Tirumala's four mada streets before dawn and then down to Tiruchanur.

🐘 Vahana seva timings: 8–10 am and 7–9 pm

At Tiruchanur the processions run in two fixed windows, 8 to 10 am for the morning vahanam and 7 to 9 pm for the evening one, around the four mada streets of the temple. There is no ticket; the streets are the viewing gallery and the galleries along them fill first.

Two evenings pull the biggest crowds. Gaja Vahanam on Thursday 10 December and Garuda Vahanam on Friday 11 December are Tiruchanur's answer to Tirumala's Garuda Seva night, and a Friday Garuda Seva for Ammavaru brings Tirupati town out in force.

• Pick a spot on the mada street about an hour before 7 pm for a clear view of the vahanam.

• Weekday mornings are the calmest; Pedda Sesha and Hamsa Vahanam on Monday 7 December suit elders well.

• Rathotsavam on Sunday 13 December is a morning event, and the chariot moves slowly enough to see it from more than one point.

🪷 Panchami Theertham: the Chakra Snanam at Padma Sarovaram

Panchami Theertham marks Ammavaru's appearance on a golden lotus in the Padma Sarovaram, the temple tank also called Padma Pushkarini. After Snapana Tirumanjanam to Ammavaru and Sri Sudarshana Chakrattalwar, the pujaris dip the Chakra in the tank, and the Yatris follow with their own holy bath.

The muhurat is late morning, not dawn. In 2025 the Chakra Snanam was fixed for 12:10 to 12:20 pm in Kumbha Lagna; TTD will announce the 2026 time with the day-wise sheet, and it should fall in a similar band.

• Reach the tank area by 7 am to be in the first batches; the sheds fill from dawn, and Yatris from Tamil Nadu arrive in large numbers.

• Carry a change of clothes in a small bag and leave luggage at your hotel.

• Elders and children should use the afternoon window rather than the noon push.

• In past years TTD has set up around 120 food counters, medical posts and temporary toilets at the sheds, so you need not carry much.

🎟️ Darshan at Tiruchanur during the festival

Sri Padmavathi temple normally opens around 5 am and closes around 9 pm, with free sarva darshan queues through the day. During festivals TTD suspends the paid arjitha sevas and break darshan, as it did for the 2025 Pavitrotsavam and Navaratri, so expect only sarva darshan from 6 to 14 December.

Tiruchanur also sells a special entry darshan ticket, around ₹200, released online each month on the TTD portal. Whether that quota stays open on vahana days is set out in TTD's festival notice, so do not build your plan on it for 13 or 14 December.

🛕 Fitting it around a Tirumala darshan

The Venkatachala Mahatmya has Padmavathi settle at Tiruchanur after the wedding while the Lord stays on Tirumala, and most Yatris treat a Tirumala trip as incomplete without Ammavaru's darshan. The order is not fixed: many go to Tiruchanur first, others come down the hill and finish there.

For December 2026, Tirumala's ₹300 Special Entry Darshan quota opened online on 24 September 2026, three months ahead, so most dates are already taken; watch for cancellation re-releases. Our Special Entry Darshan guide explains the booking window and ID rules.

Free slotted sarva darshan (SSD) tokens are issued only in person at Tirupati, at the Bhudevi complex near Alipiri, Vishnu Nivasam by the railway station and Srinivasam by the bus stand. Each token carries a reporting time, so collect it early on the morning you go up.

1. Day one: collect the SSD token or use your ₹300 slot, go up the ghat road, take darshan and return to Tirupati by evening.

2. Day two: Tiruchanur for Rathotsavam on 13 December or Panchami Theertham on 14 December, both morning events.

3. Do not stack Panchami Theertham and a Tirumala darshan on the same day; each is a half-day on its own.

Vaikunta Ekadashi follows less than a week later, expected around 20 December, when TTD cancels the ₹300 darshan for the Vaikunta Dwara days. If your trip stretches into that week, read our Vaikunta Ekadashi 2026 guide before fixing dates.

🚌 Tirupati to Tiruchanur: 5 km, three ways

Tiruchanur, also called Alamelu Mangapuram, sits about 4 to 6 km south of Tirupati railway station and the central bus stand, a short ride of well under half an hour in normal traffic. From Tirumala it is the full ghat road down plus the town crossing, so allow well over an hour.

On Panchami Theertham day expect diversions and parking well short of the temple, because TTD's traffic plan funnels everyone through the holding points; budget an extra hour. We could not confirm a TTD free bus to Tiruchanur for the festival, so ask at the bus stand and plan on APSRTC or a cab.

🧭 Which day should you choose?

• With elders: the morning vahanams on Monday 7 or Tuesday 8 December, then an afternoon dip on the 14th rather than the noon push.

• On a budget: any weekday evening vahanam is free, the city bus costs little, and Tirupati town rooms are easier than Tirumala's.

• On a tight schedule: Garuda Vahanam on Friday 11 December evening, Tirumala darshan the next morning, home by Saturday night.

• For the full festival: Rathotsavam on Sunday 13 and Panchami Theertham on Monday 14 December; book rooms now, as the town fills for both.

• First-timers: Gaja Vahanam on Thursday 10 December is grand and lighter on crowd than the Friday Garuda Seva.

• Avoid: arriving at noon on 14 December expecting to walk to the tank, and planning any arjitha seva at Tiruchanur on festival days.

🛏️ Where to stay

Base yourself in Tirupati town, not Tirumala. Tiruchanur has very few rooms, and from the hotels around the railway station and the bus stand the temple is a 5 km hop that works for a 7 pm vahanam as easily as a 7 am tank visit.

TTD's own complexes in town open for booking 60 days ahead, which for 13–14 December means mid-October, so act this week. Our Tirumala vs Tirupati stay guide compares the TTD rooms with private hotels for a festival stay.

Reach the Padma Sarovaram early, take the dip without hurry, and let Ammavaru's festival set the pace of your Tirupati trip. Om Namo Venkatesaya.