Adhyayana Utsavam — The Great Festival of Prabandham Recitation
Adhyayana utsavam ('the celebration of sacred study/recitation'; adhyayana = study, recitation + utsavam = festival, celebration) is the most important annual liturgical festival in Śrī Vaiṣṇava temples — a twenty-day event during which the complete Divya Prabandham (all 4,000 Tamil pāsurams of the twelve Āzhvārs) is systematically recited before Bhagavān.
The festival unfolds in two halves:
Pagalpathu ('Ten Days') — The first ten days, also called Tirumozhi Tirunāḷ, during which the Mudal Āyiram and Periya Tirumozhi portions are recited in the customary order. The tenth day is the day before Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī.
Irappathu / Rāppathu ('Ten Nights') — Beginning on Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī, the next ten days are especially devoted to Nammāzhvār's Tiruvāimoḻi — the 1,102 pāsurams that are the crown of the entire Prabandham. Vaikuṇṭha Ekādaśī therefore occurs at the start of Rāppathu, not at the festival's final culmination. The twentieth day concludes with Tiruvāimoḻi sARRumuRai and Nammāzhvār's tiruvaḍi-tozhal; some temples observe additional Iyaṟpā and concluding days.
The theological significance of adhyayana utsavam rests on the understanding that the Divya Prabandham is Bhagavān's own speech — the pāsurams are His icchā (will) expressed through the Āzhvārs' mouths. Reciting them before Him completes a divine loop: His own words, given in His grace, returned to Him in praise. Piḷḷai Lokāchārya's Śrīvachana Bhūṣaṇam extensively treats the sanctity of Prabandham recitation.