The temple is open fourteen hours a day, with a four-hour midday closure. In those fourteen hours the Sivacharya priests perform six poojas — the six prescribed worship cycles of the Karana Agama — and a visitor who plans for them will see Brihadeeswara at its most alive.

The six are not equal. Some are quick (Uchikkala, twenty minutes), some are long (Ushakkala and Ardhajama, over an hour each). Some are well-attended; some are nearly empty. The right approach for visitors is to pick one of the two anchor poojas — dawn or dusk — and arrive a little early.

The full daily schedule.

Ushakkala — the dawn pooja.

Conducted at 06:30, the Ushakkala is the first and arguably the most important of the six. The lingam is awakened with the full eleven-substance abhishekam — milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugar, rose-water, sandal paste, vibhuti, turmeric, kumkum and pure water — followed by the first alankaram of the day. Seventy-five minutes from start to closing arati.

The pooja is well-attended by local devotees but tourist density is low at this hour. Light through the eastern doorway falls on the lingam at about 06:50 — a photograph forbidden in the sanctum, but the sight is worth being present for.

Kalasanthi — the morning ritual.

The 08:00 Kalasanthi is the shorter morning follow-up — a partial abhishekam, the day's first formal naivedya (food offering), and a deeparadhana. Forty-five minutes. This is the pooja that most tourists accidentally witness on a morning visit.

Uchikkala — the noon pooja.

The 12:00 Uchikkala is the shortest of the six. A simple offering of cooked rice and sambar (the deity is offered a full meal at noon), the deeparadhana, and a quick arati. Twenty-five minutes. The temple closes for the afternoon shortly afterwards, at 12:30.

Sayarakshai — the evening pooja.

The 17:30 Sayarakshai is the most theatrical pooja of the day and the one we recommend to first-time visitors. The doors are reopened at 16:00; by 17:00 the prakara is full; the deeparadhana is performed with multi-tiered oil lamps; the camphor flame is visible from the outer mandapa. Sixty minutes. The temple is lit; the air smells of camphor and flowers.

Irandam Kala — the second night pooja.

At 19:00, the Irandam Kala (literally “second time”) is an intermediate ritual bridging Sayarakshai and Ardhajama. A short abhishekam, a deeparadhana, a brief naivedya. Forty minutes. Smaller crowd than the Sayarakshai but still well-attended.

Ardhajama — the closing.

The 20:00 Ardhajama is the final pooja of the day and, after the Ushakkala, the second of the two full-abhishekam rituals. The lingam is washed, dressed for the night, anointed with sandal paste, and laid to symbolic rest. The doors of the inner sanctum are closed at the end of the pooja, around 21:10, and the temple gates close at 20:30.

The Ardhajama has a peculiar atmosphere — fewer people, the day's heat gone, the temple lit only by oil lamps and the standing copper lights. For visitors with the stamina to wait for it, the Ardhajama is the quietest and most contemplative of the six.

Editor's pick

For first-time visitors: the Sayarakshai at 17:30. Most accessible, most theatrical, and the temple is at its most photographed-from-the-prakara at this hour. For repeat visitors and pilgrims: the Ushakkala at 06:30. Cooler, quieter, and the first sight of the lingam each day.

Which to attend, as visitor.

  • First-time visitor, half a day. Sayarakshai 17:30. Arrive 16:30.
  • First-time visitor, dawn riser. Ushakkala 06:30. Arrive 06:00.
  • Repeat visitor. Ardhajama 20:00. Quietest of the six.
  • Photographer. See our photography tour. Light, not pooja-watching, is the priority.
  • Pilgrim. Ushakkala and Ardhajama — the two full-abhishekam poojas, one at each end of the day.

Whichever pooja you choose, arrive thirty minutes before the listed start. The priests are already in the sanctum and the preliminary rituals are under way. Once the abhishekam begins, no one enters or leaves the inner prakara.