🌸 Onam (Thiruvonam) Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the household Onam sequence — the pookalam from Atham to Thiruvonam, the Onathappan puja, the sadya, Onakkodi; for Malayali and other families living outside Kerala too.
How to do Onam (Thiruvonam) — the steps
- Atham (the first day): bathe in the morning, plaster the courtyard/doorstep with cow dung and lay the first row of the pookalam — only Tulsi and white (thumba) flowers; one row/colour is added daily — marigold, chembarathi (hibiscus), chethi, lotus petals; the full pookalam of 10 rows on Thiruvonam; a lamp (nilavilakku) in the centre.
- Moolam-Pooradam-Uthradam: cleaning and decorating the house, buying new clothes (Onakkodi) — Uthradam is 'Uthradappachil' (the last-day rush); on Pooradam make the clay Onathappan/Thrikkakara Appan (square pyramids — the symbol of Vamana/Mahabali) and install them in the centre of the pookalam, decorate with rice-flour paste (aniyal), flowers and akshat; give the elder sister/mother the 'Onappudava' (sari).
- Thiruvonam morning: bathe in the Brahma muhurat, the kasavu mundu/sari; complete the pookalam, the naivedya of ada (a steamed dish of rice, coconut and jaggery) for Onathappan, a lamp, 'Onappattu' (Onam songs); welcoming Mahabali — a lamp at the door, the aarppu-vili (festive cry); the elders of the house give everyone Onakkodi (new clothes), touching the feet.
- The Onasadya (noon): on a banana leaf (tip to the left) in order — pappadam, banana (nendran), sharkara varatti, upperi, pickles (inji puli, manga), pachadi-kichadi, thoran, olan, avial, koottukari, erissery, kalan, then rice — parippu with ghee (dal-ghee), sambar, rasam, moru (buttermilk); finally the payasam (pal ada, parippu, palada) — 2-3 kinds; the family together, elders and guests first.
- Afternoon-evening: the Onakkalikal — Thiruvathira kali (the women's circle dance around the lamp), kummatti, pulikali (Thrissur — the fourth Onam), vallam kali (Aranmula-Champakkulam), oonjal (the swing), thalappanthu kali; children's games; the Onam programmes on TV.
- Avittam-Chathayam: on the third and fourth Onam the Onathappan idols are lifted from the pookalam and immersed in water/the field — 'come again next year'; Chathayam is also Sree Narayana Guru Jayanti (Kerala).
- Outside Kerala: a small pookalam (paper/flowers), Onathappan (clay/brass), a sadya of 8-10 dishes or a community one on banana leaves (the Malayali association); 'Onashamsakal' (greetings) to the family in Kerala, pranam to the elders on a video call.
- The rules of Onam: no quarrels, demands for repayment or sadness at home (Mahabali wants to see his people happy), the gift of a sadya to the poor (community sadyas in Kerala), fresh flowers in the pookalam every day.
Puja samagri checklist
The flowers of the pookalam, the clay of Onathappan, the kasavu, banana leaves and the sadya of 26 dishes — the Onam list.
- Pookalam: Tulsi, thumba (white), marigold (yellow-orange), chembarathi (hibiscus — red), chethi (ixora), lotus petals, green leaves, a base of cow dung/rice flour, nilavilakku (brass lamp)
- Onathappan/Thrikkakara Appan: square pyramid idols of clay (or brass) (3-5), rice-flour paste (aniyal), flowers-akshat, ada (naivedya)
- Clothes: kasavu sari/mundu (cream with a golden border), Onakkodi for children, Onappudava (sari-mundu) for elders
- Sadya: banana leaves, rice (matta/regular), toor dal, vegetables (pumpkin, raw banana, beans, carrot, cucumber, ash gourd, yam, drumstick), coconut (plenty), coconut oil, curd-buttermilk, tamarind, jaggery, ginger, curry leaves, mustard, green chilli
- Payasam: rice/ada/parippu (moong), jaggery, coconut milk, ghee, cashew-raisins, cardamom; pappadam, nendran (Kerala banana), sharkara varatti (jaggery banana chips), upperi (chips), inji puli, pickles
- Games and dance: oonjal (swing), a lamp for Thiruvathira kali, thalappanthu; Onappattu (songs)
- Charity: a community sadya/food for the poor, clothes; darshan at the temple (Thrikkakara/Vamanamoorthy)
The Onasadya — 26 dishes on a banana leaf, the payasam last
The Onasadya is the soul of Onam — fully vegetarian, based on coconut oil and coconut, served on a banana leaf from left to right in a fixed order; the tip of the leaf to the left; rice in the centre; the payasam last; the family sitting together on the floor; folding the leaf towards oneself at the end = 'satisfied'. Below the order of dishes and simple recipes.
- From the top-left corner of the leaf: pappadam, nendra pazham (banana), sharkara varatti (jaggery banana chips), upperi (salted banana chips), salt; then pickles — inji puli (a chutney of ginger, tamarind and jaggery), manga pickle, naranga
- The upper row (right): kichadi (cucumber/okra with curd), pachadi (pineapple/pumpkin with curd and coconut), thoran (a dry dish of beans/cabbage with coconut), olan (ash gourd-cowpea-coconut milk), avial (mixed vegetables with coconut and curd), koottukari (black chana-yam-coconut), erissery (pumpkin-chana-roasted coconut), kalan (raw banana/yam with curd and coconut)
- Rice (matta — red) in the centre; on it in order — parippu + ney (moong dal + ghee), sambar, rasam, then moru/pulissery (buttermilk curry); pappadam crumbled into the parippu
- Payasam (2-3): pal ada (rice ada-milk-sugar), parippu payasam (moong-jaggery-coconut milk), palada pradhaman, gothambu (wheat), semiya; banana and pappadam with the payasam (the Kerala custom — the mix of sweet and salty); finally moru-rice and banana — for digestion
- The morning breakfast: idiyappam-stew, puttu-kadala, appam; Onam specials: ada (the naivedya of Onathappan), unniyappam, ilayada
- A simple sadya outside Kerala (8-10): rice, parippu-ghee, sambar, avial, thoran, pachadi, inji puli, pappadam, banana, one payasam; the community sadyas of the Malayali associations in Bengaluru-Mumbai-Delhi-the Gulf
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- The pookalam daily from Atham (fresh flowers), complete on Thiruvonam; a nilavilakku in the centre
- The Onathappan puja in the morning, the ada naivedya; Onakkodi — new clothes from elders to the young, pranam
- The Onasadya fully vegetarian, on a banana leaf in order, the family together; a sadya for the poor/neighbours
- The Onakkalikal — the swing, Thiruvathira kali, games; the katha (Mahabali-Vamana) for children
- The immersion of Onathappan in water/the field on Avittam/Chathayam
❌ Don't
- No quarrels, demands for repayment or show of grief in the Onam days (Mahabali comes to see his people happy — folk belief)
- No meat, fish, onion or garlic in the sadya (the traditional sadya is purely vegetarian; some communities differ)
- No artificial/plastic flowers or stale flowers in the pookalam; no fake colours
- No intoxicants or unsafe conduct at vallam kali/pulikali; no children alone in the crowd
- Do not think of Onam as only a 'Hindu festival' — in Kerala it is shared by all faiths; deprive no one of the sadya
Vrat katha
The asura king Mahabali, grandson of Prahlada, was generous, just and a devotee of Vishnu; in his kingdom all were equal and happy — the gods feared in envy that Bali would take Indra's throne; at Aditi's prayer Vishnu c… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Onam (Thiruvonam) in {Y}?
This year's Thiruvonam date is above — the day of the Shravana nakshatra in Chingam (the solar Simha month) (by the sunrise nakshatra); Atham (the start of the pookalam) 9 days earlier, Uthradam a day earlier, Avittam-Chathayam two days later; the Kerala government's calendar (the Malayalam calendar) gives the same day — if the nakshatra spans two days, follow the Kerala panchang's date.
Whose festival is Onam — Hindu or everyone's?
The root tale is of Vamana and Mahabali (Vaishnava), but in Kerala Onam is a secular harvest and state festival — Hindus, Christians and Muslims all celebrate with pookalam, sadya and Onakkodi; a public holiday and 'Onam Week'; hence it is called Kerala's 'national festival'.
How to make the pookalam, which flower on which day?
On Atham a single row of only Tulsi and thumba (white) on a round base of cow dung/clay; from Chithira one colour/row daily — yellow (marigold), orange, red (chembarathi-chethi), purple (kakka poovu), green leaves; 10 rows on Thiruvonam, with the lamp and Onathappan in the centre; by tradition the petals are changed daily; paper/rice rangoli as an alternative outside Kerala.
How many dishes in the Onasadya and in what order?
Traditionally 26 (20-64 in places): pappadam-banana-chips-pickles (left), kichadi-pachadi-thoran-olan-avial-koottukari-erissery-kalan (top), on the rice parippu-ghee → sambar → rasam → moru, finally 2-3 payasams; the tip of the leaf to the left, only on a banana leaf; 8-10 at home is a sadya too — the spirit is of completeness.
What is Onathappan/Thrikkakara Appan?
Square pyramid-shaped clay idols (3-5) placed in the centre of the pookalam from Pooradam to Thiruvonam — the symbol of Vamana/Mahabali/the deity of the Thrikkakara temple; decorated with rice-flour paste, offered ada and flowers; immersed on Chathayam; Thrikkakara (Kochi) is the temple of Vamana — the origin of Onam.
How to celebrate Onam outside Kerala?
A small pookalam (flowers/paper), Onathappan (clay/brass), the morning lamp puja, kasavu/new clothes, a sadya of 8-10 dishes on a banana leaf (or a plate), payasam, the family feast, Onam songs/Thiruvathira, pranam to the elders in Kerala on video; go to the community sadya of your city's Malayali samajam — non-Malayalis are warmly welcome too.
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