Every year, in the month of Meenam (March-April), a ten-day Arattu festival is celebrated at the Janardhana Swamy Temple in Kerala's beach town of Varkala. The festival starts with a Kodiyettam flag hoisting ceremony, and ends with a procession of five decorated elephants through the streets. During the fourth and fifth days of the festival, the celebrations include all night long performances such as traditional Kathakali dancing. The arattu (holy bath) of the Lord is conducted on Uthram day in the Arabian sea on the back of the temple. Along with this festival, the days of the appearance of Lord Vishnu's avatars (e.g.: Rama Navami, Ashtami Rohini, Narasimha Jayanthi), Karkadaka Vavu (Amavasya day in the month of Karkadakam, which comes in July or August), and Vaikuntha Ekadashi are also celebrated in the temple. The days of Thiruvonam star, Ekadashi and Thursdays are also considered important, since according to popular custom, these days are dedicated to Lord Vishnu.