(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) Attukal Pongala is a renowned annual festival celebrated at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. During this festival, millions of women gather to prepare a special offering called "pongala," a sweet rice dish, as an offering to the presiding deity, Attukal Bhagavathy.
The Attukal Pongala will be celebrated on February 25 this year in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.
The ten-day-long celebration commences in the Malayalam month of Makaram-Kumbham (Feb - March) on the Karthika star.
The festival commences with the musical rendering of the story of the Goddess (Kannaki Charitam) during the "Kappukettu ceremony.
Attukal Bhagavathy is believed to be the divinised form of Kannaki, the famous heroine of Chilapathikaram, written by Elenkovadikal, the Tamil Poet.
A festival that has figured in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the single largest gathering of women for a religious activity.
Pongala (literally means to boil over) is a ritualistic offering of a sweet dish, consisting of rice porridge, sweet brown molasses, coconut gratings, nuts and raisins.
Goddess Attukal Devi is believed to fulfill their wishes and provide prosperity and can attain salvation.
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