Pāvai nōṇbu Pāvai nōṇbu/Pāvai nōmbu (Mārgaḻi nōṇbu) is a month-long vrata observed during the Tamil month of Mārgaḻi or Margali masam. Pāvai nōṇbu starts on 16 December 2022 and ends on 14 January (30 days). Mainly the nōṇbu is for virgin girls who want to get good husbands and pleasant married life. It is believed that Andal was performed the nōṇbu to get the Lord Vishnu as her husband. Some devotees believe that Gopis, the cowherd girls, were influenced by Pāvai nōṇbu and started to perform Katyayani (Uma) vrata. Pāvai nōṇbu is observed as Dhanurmasa Vratham in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. ThirupPāvai is the sacred text recited during Dhanurmasa vratham. Dhanurmasam is one of the most auspicious months for Vaishnavas. We know that the girls-play was an important component of the nōṇbu. They were not mature enough to understand the religious aspect of it. They were only habituated to performing that nōṇbu every year, until they grew old enough to transform it into prayers for a good