Attukal Pongala is a famous annual festival celebrated at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in the city of Thiruvananthapuram. It is one of the largest all-women religious gatherings in the world. This temple is also known as the Sabarimala for Women.
The festival typically falls in the Malayalam month of Kumbham, which corresponds to February-March in the Gregorian calendar. Attukal Pongala is a 10-day religious festival. On the ninth day there is a huge gathering of millions of women on the temple surroundings. These women prepare a divine food made of rice in earthen pots and offer it to the Attukal Amma, who is believed to be an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Kannaki (also known as Kannagi). The pongala preparation starts with the ritual called ‘Aduppuvettu’. This is the lighting of the pongala hearth (called Pandarayaduppu) placed inside the temple by the chief priest. This is the earliest Pongala festival in Kerala. The main significance of this festival is victory of good over evil.
On this occasion it would appear as though all roads in and around Thiruvananthapuram city lead to the Attukal Temple. The entire area of about 7 Kilometers radius around the temple, with houses of people of all caste, creed and religion open fields, roads and commercial institutions emerge as a consecrated ground for observing Pongala ritual for the lakhs women devotees assembling from different parts of Kerala and outside.
The ceremony concludes with the sprinkling of holy water by temple priests at the appointed time in the evening accompanied by an aerial showering of flowers to the honor and glory of the Goddess Almighty. The temple authorities make all necessary arrangements for the welfare of this huge congregation with the active participation of the voluntary agencies, local people, members of the festival committee and the various government departments. They ensure law and order in the area with the support of the police and the volunteers specially detailed for the purpose. The enormous crowd which gathers here is reminiscent of the huge gatherings of the Kumbha Mela festival of North India.
Attukal Pongala holds a Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of women for a religious activity. The number of participants can reach hundreds of thousands, making it a significant event in Kerala’s cultural and religious calendar. In addition to the Pongala offering, various other rituals, processions, and cultural programs take place during the festival. Attukal Pongala is a unique and vibrant celebration that reflects the strong cultural and religious traditions of Kerala, and it attracts both devotees and tourists from all over the world.