The Annual Purification
Pavitrotsavam (Sanskrit: pavitra = pure/sacred + utsava = festival; 'the festival of purification') is an annual Āgamic festival conducted at major Śrī Vaiṣṇava temples. Its purpose is the collective expiation of any inadvertent ritual errors, omissions, or impurities that may have accumulated over the preceding year in the temple's worship.
Ritual Procedure
The duration and detailed sequence of Pavitrotsavam vary according to the temple and its Āgamic practice; for example, Tirumala observes a three-day Pavitrotsavam. Its central observances generally include homas, the consecration and offering of pavitra garlands or threads, prescribed worship, and a concluding pūrṇāhuti. A single five-day or ten-day duration should not be presented as universal, and the rite is not accurately explained as transferring “accumulated merit” to a yāga image.
Community Significance
The Pavitrotsavam is a community event — not just for the priests but for all devotees who participate in the temple's worship life. Devotees participate in and receive blessings from the festival, but its primary liturgical purpose is the rectification of inadvertent omissions and commissions in the temple's prescribed worship. It should not be described as a blanket annual purification of every devotee's personal lapses.