Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam Rohit Kumar Parmar
- rohitkparmar
- Mar 13
- 3 min read
Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam (13.03.2025) [1]
-Rohit Kumar Parmar [2]
Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam celebrated in the Attukal Temple Thiruvananthapuram, is the largest congregation of women for any festival in the world. The festival devoted to Attukal-Amma, Attukal-Bhagavathy, Attukal-Devi, Bhadrakali-Devi, Kannaki-Devi, is a women-centric festival in which they (women) individually prepare and offer a unique sweet dish cooked in earthen pots to Attukal-Devi.
The ten day festival begins on Karthikakshatra in the Malayalam month Makaram or Kumbham, (coinciding with February/ March of the Gregorian Calendar). On this day, several states/ regions in India celebrate Holika Dahan.
Only women participate in the Pongala ritual. Millions of women devotees gather around the temple to worship and individually prepare the offering to Attukal-Devi. Though a Hindu festival, women from Kerala and the Malabar coastal region, and those practising other faiths also offer Pongala to Attukal-Devi.
Celebrations of Attukal Pongala
Kappu Kettu and Kudiyiruthu
Kuthiyottam Ceremony
Lighting of the Pongala Hearths
Sanctification of Pongala.
Chooralkuthu Ceremony
Procession of Goddess Attukal-Devi
Kappu Azhippu & Kudiyilakkal
Kuruthi Tharppanam
Attukal Pongala is a ten-day festival which begins on the Karthika star with traditional Kappukettu and Kudiyiruthu ceremonies, when the idol of Attukal-Devi, is decorated with Kappu (Bangles).
The festival begins with musical rendition of the story of Goddess Kannaki Charitam, during the traditional Kappukettu and Kudiyiruthu ceremony.
The Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam takes place on the ninth day of the festival, 'Pooram (Purnima or full moon) day' which is the major attraction when lakhs of women, assemble at the temple premises, in the open ground of the temple, adjacent spaces- footpaths, roads, and on either side of the roads leading to the shrine, to individually prepare the Pongala offering.
Pongala (literally means to boil over) is a ritualistic offering of Payasam, a sweet dish consisting of rice (other grains also), jaggery, coconut, nuts and raisins together in earthen pots. Devotees offer Pongala to appease the presiding deity of the temple, popularly known as Attukal-Devi.
The festival of Attukal Pongala concludes with the Kuruthitharpanam, the sacrificial offering, on the 10th day Makam star night.
Goddess 'Attukal-Devi', is the supreme mother 'Bhadrakali-Devi', symbolising power and courage. She is often referred to as Kannaki-Devi, the heroine of Ilanko Adikal's 'Silappathikaaram'. Silappathikaaram (Silappatikaaram), is the earliest Tamil epic, a poem of a tragic love story of a couple, Kannaki and her husband Kovalan.
Kovalan, a rich businessman in Madurai and married to Kannaki, falls in love with a beautiful dancer Madhavi, and spends all his time and money on her, and becomes bankrupt. He returns to his wife Kannaki, after the dancer throws him out of her house. Kannaki a loving and caring wife, continues to support her husband and asks him to sell one of her anklets, to start a new business with that money.
When Kovalan tries to sell the anklet, he is caught since, on the previous day, a theft took place in the palace of the King and the queen's anklets, similar to that of Kannaki, were missing. The jeweller whom Kovalan approaches to sell the anklet, suspects him to be the thief and informs the king, who has him beheaded.
Hearing the news of her husband, Kannaki comes to the palace in anger and throws the other anklet in front of the king. The broken anklet of Kannaki has rubies, while there were pearls in the queen’s anklet, exposing the King.
In sorrow, Kannaki curses the King and sacrifices her body and throws it towards the city, which is gutted in fire, as a result of the curse. Kannaki moves to Kodungalloor in Kerala. On the way to Kodungalloor, she passes through Thiruvananthapuram, disguised as a small girl, and requests an old man to help her to cross the river. Seeing a small girl, the old man takes her to his house but the girl disappears. On that night, Goddess Kannaki comes in the dreams of the old man and asks him to construct a temple in his compound and install her idol there, which is known as Attukal-Devi Temple.
[1] Picture from the internet of an earlier year celebration.
[2] Author, Freelance, Indian Economic Service, Senior Economic Adviser (Retired), Government of India, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and former Adviser (P 4) UNDP, Yemen has in posts
on his website (https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site),
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can be reached at rohitkparmar@yahoo.com.
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