Attukal Pongal Festival (Attukal Ponkala) is a world famous annual festival celebrated at Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Trivandrum, Kerala. Attukal Pongala is a 10 day festival which starts from the Bharani day on the Karthika nakshatra of the Malayalam month of Makaram - Kumbham (February - March) and ends with the sacrificial offering known as Kuruthitharpanam at night. Attukala Pongala Mahotsavam, is an exclusive women’s only festival, which has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for being the World’s largest religious gathering of women. Attukal Bhagavathy Temple is called as the ‘Sabarimala of Women’, and in 2022, the date of Attukal Pongala festival is on 17 February 2022, Thursday.
Attukal Pongala Celebrations
The 9th day of the ten day festival is the Pongala day. 'Pongala' literally means “to boil over” and is an offering of boiled rice in earthern pot to Attukal Amma, an incarnation of Goddess Parvathi Devi, the presiding deity of Attukal Bhagawathy Temple. Women prepare Pongala Payasam, a sweet offering of boiled rice with jaggery, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins in earthen pots. Some people also prepare other sweet dishes like therali appam, elayappam, panchamrutam, and mandaputtu (prepared with rice powder and jaggery).
Every year more than a million women from different parts of India and world gather at the temple premises and in the temple vicinity to offer Pongala to Attukal Amma. Devotees who gather to offer Pongala to Attukal devi increases in numbers every year. The rush is so intense that the entire Trivandrum City, about 5 km radius around the Attukal temple, becomes the holy grounds for women to offer Pongala nivedyam to Goddess. From temple grounds to courtyards of houses, to bus station and railway station to public roads one can see only devotees offering Pongala to Attukal Devi.
The Pongala cooking rituals starts around 10.30 in the morning and by noon the ponkala would be ready. The ceremony concludes at around 2.30 PM when the temple priests starts sprinkling of holy water (theertham) on the Pongala payasam offered by devotees. The Flying Club of Thiruvananthapuram sends a helicopter around the area to shower flowers to the honour of the Goddess.
Let us all pray for the blessings of Attukal Amma
"Sarva Mangala Mangalie Sive Sarvardha Sadhike
Saraneye Thryambake Devi Narayani Namo Sthuthe"
Attukal Pongala Celebrations
The 9th day of the ten day festival is the Pongala day. 'Pongala' literally means “to boil over” and is an offering of boiled rice in earthern pot to Attukal Amma, an incarnation of Goddess Parvathi Devi, the presiding deity of Attukal Bhagawathy Temple. Women prepare Pongala Payasam, a sweet offering of boiled rice with jaggery, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins in earthen pots. Some people also prepare other sweet dishes like therali appam, elayappam, panchamrutam, and mandaputtu (prepared with rice powder and jaggery).
Every year more than a million women from different parts of India and world gather at the temple premises and in the temple vicinity to offer Pongala to Attukal Amma. Devotees who gather to offer Pongala to Attukal devi increases in numbers every year. The rush is so intense that the entire Trivandrum City, about 5 km radius around the Attukal temple, becomes the holy grounds for women to offer Pongala nivedyam to Goddess. From temple grounds to courtyards of houses, to bus station and railway station to public roads one can see only devotees offering Pongala to Attukal Devi.
The Pongala cooking rituals starts around 10.30 in the morning and by noon the ponkala would be ready. The ceremony concludes at around 2.30 PM when the temple priests starts sprinkling of holy water (theertham) on the Pongala payasam offered by devotees. The Flying Club of Thiruvananthapuram sends a helicopter around the area to shower flowers to the honour of the Goddess.
Let us all pray for the blessings of Attukal Amma
"Sarva Mangala Mangalie Sive Sarvardha Sadhike
Saraneye Thryambake Devi Narayani Namo Sthuthe"
Amma...........she is all for me.iam living in the grace of my amma.
ReplyDeleteAccording to mythology, Attukal Bhagavathy is supposed to be the divinised form of Kannaki, the famous heroine of Chilapathikaram, written by Elenkovadikal, the Tamil Poet. The story goes that after the destruction of ancient city of Madurai, Kannaki left the city and reached Kerala via Kanyakumari and on the way to Kodungalloor took a sojourn at Attukal. Kannaki is supposed to be the incarnation of Parvathy, the consort of Paramasiva. The all powerful and benign Attukal Bhagavathy reigns eternally supreme at Attukal and nurses devotees as a mother does her children. Thousands of devotees from far and near flock to the Temple to bend before the Goddess with awe and reverence to prostrate and redress their affliction and agony.
ReplyDeleteThe Pongala Mahotsavam is the most important festival of Attukal Bhagavathy Temple. The offering of Pongala is a special temple practice prevalent in the southern part of Kerala and some parts of Tamilnadu. It is a ten-day programme commencing on the Karthika star of the Malayalam month of Makaram-Kumbham (February-March) and closing with the sacrificial offering known as Kuruthitharpanam at night. On the ninth day of the festival the world famous Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam takes place. The entire area of about 5 kilometre radius around temple with premises of houses of people of all caste, creed and religion, open fields, roads, commercial institutions, premises of Government offices etc. emerges as a consecrated ground for observing Pongala rituals for lakhs of women devotees assembling from different parts of Kerala and outside. The ceremony is exclusively confined to women folk and the enormous crowd, which gathers in Thiruvananthapuram on this auspicious day is reminiscent of the Kumbhamela Festival of North India.
The famous Attukal Ponkala -instant cooking of rice with jaggery & coconut in temple premises- falls during the month of February/March every year (Kumbhom) is the annual festival of the temple. The Ponkala is celebrated on the ninth day of the festival, the day of the confluence of the star Pooram and Pournami (Full Moon Night.) It has been reported that over 15 lakhs women devotees participated in the Ponkala held early this year (during March '98), the like of which , is unparalleled anywhere in the world. Every inch of temple including roads, courtyards of houses etc. become sites of Ponkala cooking on that day. Around 11 am the Priest lights the hearth in front of the temple amidst fire works and beating of chenda. This is then passed on from one woman to the other who light their hearth and prepare "Neivedyam". At about 4 pm on that day, Priests come out of the temple carrying holy water which marks the finale of the Ponkala and the devotees return home with happiness and satisfaction in their mind and after making an appeal to the Goddess for Her permission to participate in next year's Ponkala.
An atmosphere of festivity prevails everyday a the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple. Poojas arranged by devotees as also Bhajan, Kodi Archana, Leksharchana, Akhandanamajapam (continuous chanting of the names of Goddess) are conducted almost everyday. All important days of religious observances are celebrated here. Very important among them are:
1. Mandala Vratham Festival in connection with the annual Utsavam of Sabarimala
2. Vinayaka Chathurthi Pooja to the Lord Ganapathy
3. Pooja Vaypu Identical to Dussera festival (Saraswathy Pooja and Vidyarambham)
4. Sivarathri Siva Pooja
5. Karthika (Devi's star) in November - December - Karthika Deepam
6. Ayilya Pooja Milk, flowers etc. offered to serpent God and special rites.
7. Aiswarya Pooia On all fullmoon (Pournarni) days
8. Nirayum Puthariyum
(Ramayana Parayanam) During the month of Karkidaka
9. Akhandanama Japam 4th Sunday of every month
Amma...pls bless my brother....pls find a life partner for him...pls Amma pls pls...
ReplyDeleteAmma Maha maye....pls bless my brother....pls get him a wife soon...i will offer pongala for 3years...pls amma have mercy on him...
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