Vaikunta Ekadasi Turnout Growing Across TTD Temples; Rise Limited at Tirumala
These Vaikunta Ekadasi footfalls underscore a clear divergence within the TTD system
TIRUPATI: While pilgrim turnout on Vaikunta Ekadasi has increased significantly across the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) managed temples in various parts of the country, that at the TTD’s flagship shrine at Tirumala registered only a limited increase, putting matters in perspective.
Official figures show that on December 30, 2025 the Vaikunta Ekadasi Day a total of 12,46,992 devotees offered darshan at the 61 TTD temples across India. This is a sharp rise from 8,89,843 devotees recorded on Vaikunta Ekadasi in 2024, reflecting a year-on-year increase of nearly 3.6 lakh pilgrims. The bulk of this growth is at temples outside Tirumala.
At the main temple in Tirumala, pilgrim turnout rose from 59,000 in 2024 to 67,053 in 2025, despite the shrine being the spiritual centrepiece of the TTD network, with largest queue complexes, manpower deployment and supporting infrastructure.
In contrast, several TTD temples recorded sharp increases. The Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple at Bengaluru saw footfalls rising from 54,532 to 64,173. The S.V. Temple at T. Nagar in Chennai saw the turnout nearly doubling from 31,666 in 2024 to 59,896 in 2025. In Hyderabad, the corresponding figures in Himayat Nagar Temple are 49,092 to 58,743 and 43,825 to 54,243 at the Jubilee Hills Temple.
Strong growth has been witnessed at several other centres, including the Kodandarama Swamy Temple at Vontimitta, which saw a steep rise from 18,221 to 51,219 devotees. The S.V. Temple at Visakhapatnam recorded an increase from 27,051 to 51,023, while at Devuni Kadapa Temple, figures climbed up from 40,911 to 48,134. Srinivasa Mangapuram Temple saw the turnout rise from 35,065 to 42,756, Amaravati from 29,745 to 36,783, and Nandalur from 20,055 to 35,999.
These Vaikunta Ekadasi footfalls underscore a clear divergence within the TTD system. Temples outside Tirumala recorded sustained high inflow throughout the day and absorbed much of the pilgrims’ surge, while Tirumala’s numbers showed only a limited expansion despite peak demand.
Several temples with comparatively modest infrastructure recorded footfall figures close to Tirumala’s count, even as they handled crowds through open physical queues. In contrast, darshan at Tirumala remained restricted on the day to devotees who had secured online electronic-dip tickets in advance, indirectly placing a ceiling on the number of pilgrims who could be accommodated on the most auspicious day of the Vaishnava calendar.
