The Swing Service
Ūñjal (Tamil: swing) is a temple or household service in which an utsava form of Bhagavān — sometimes together with Tāyār, according to the occasion — is seated on a decorated swing and gently moved while music, recitation, and offerings are presented. The swing may be made or decorated in many ways; it is not necessarily golden.
Recitation and Songs
The hymns used during ūñjal follow the inherited practice of the particular temple or family. Divya Prabandham pāsurams, stotras, locally transmitted ūñjal songs, and later devotional compositions may all be used in appropriate settings. There is no generally recognized separate canonical group of 'ūñjal pāsurams' composed by several Āzhvārs specifically for this ritual.
Festival Context
Some temples celebrate regular or festival ūñjal services, while others use the swing only on selected occasions. Mārgazhi, Brahmotsavam, weddings of the Divine Couple, Friday services, or other dates may be important in particular temples, but no single schedule binds all Śrī Vaiṣṇava temples.
The service expresses loving kainkaryam and Bhagavān's saulabhya: the devotees respectfully seat, adorn, sing to, and gently serve the accessible utsava form according to their sampradāya.