{"id":2929,"date":"2025-11-03T13:37:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cholantours.com\/blog\/?p=2929"},"modified":"2026-02-18T10:43:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:43:20","slug":"attukal-pongala-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cholantours.com\/blog\/attukal-pongala-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Attukal Pongal Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kerala<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0the so-called God’s Own Country<\/strong> is among the most idyllic and exquisitely scenic places in\u00a0South India<\/strong><\/a>. It is indeed a fairyland teeming with a spark of godly visuals and abundant natural wonders from gleaming backwaters to breathtaking hill stations. Among the magical treasures of\u00a0Kerala<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0is the amazing temples that portray its historical and mythological richness as well as its architectural excellence. Besides, the major draw of these stunning temples is its spectacular and ritualistic festivals, celebrated every year with great pomp and show. Among the renowned temple festivals in\u00a0Kerala<\/strong><\/a>, the world-famous\u00a0Attukal Pongal Festival<\/strong>\u00a0needs a special mention as it is exclusively observed by women and has even won the\u00a0Guinness World Record<\/strong>\u00a0for being the largest single gathering of women for religious activity in the world. It is conducted every year with great ardour at the famous\u00a0Attukal Bhagavathy Temple<\/a><\/strong> in Trivandrum district of <\/strong>Kerala<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>to <\/strong>appease the Goddess\u00a0Attukalamma<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n

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Attukal Pongal Festival:<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

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Observed exclusively by the women folks,\u00a0Attukal Pongala<\/strong>\u00a0is the world-famous ritualist annual festival celebrated at the famous\u00a0Attukal Bhagavathy Temple<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>in\u00a0Trivandrum\u00a0<\/strong>district of\u00a0Kerala<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> The religiously significant Attukal Pongal Festival<\/strong> commences on the Bharani day of the Malayalam month of Makaram or Kumbham which concludes with the sacrificial offering known as Kuruthitharpanam at night. It usually falls in February or March and lasts for ten days.\u00a0Goddess Bhadrakali (Kannaki)<\/strong> is the main deity of\u00a0Attukal Bhagavathy Temple\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>who is fondly referred to as\u00a0‘Attukalamma’.\u00a0<\/strong>\"\"<\/p>\r\n

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The ritualistic\u00a0Attukal Pongal<\/strong>\u00a0is dedicated to\u00a0Goddess Attukalamma<\/strong> during which lakhs of women in traditional attires line up on either side of the roads around the\u00a0Attukal Temple<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>praising the Goddess and making special offerings of Pongal<\/strong> which is actually a mix of rice with jaggery and grated coconut, cooked in fresh earthen or metal pots. The chief priest of the temple goes around, carrying Devi’s sword and blesses the ladies by sprinkling holy water and showering flowers. The blessed Pongala is then distributed amongst the devotees as Prasadam. Devotees believe that Attukalamma<\/strong>\u00a0will be present at\u00a0Attukal<\/strong>\u00a0and blesses them during the Pongal festival.<\/strong>\"\"<\/p>\r\n

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The entire city gets live and loud Bhajans, musical concerts, ballets depicting folk and temple arts etc during the 10 days of the festival. The ninth day of the festival is when the ritualistic preparation of Pongal <\/strong>takes place. The women folk strictly observe this festival every year without any fail. The famous\u00a0Attukal Pongal Festival<\/strong>\u00a0also has a\u00a0Guinness World Records<\/strong>\u00a0for being the single largest gathering of women for religious activity as the participation of over three million women has been marked every year at this grand festival.<\/p>\r\n

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About Attukal Bhagavathy Temple:<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

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Better known as “Sabarimala of Women<\/strong>“,\u00a0Attukal Bhagavathy Temple<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>is a world-famous Hindu religious shrine in\u00a0Kerala<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>dedicated to\u00a0Goddess Bhadrakali<\/strong>\u00a0whom the devotees fondly call as\u00a0Attukalamma.<\/strong>\u00a0The Goddess is worshipped at this temple in 3 different forms namely Maha Saraswathi<\/strong> – the Goddess of Knowledge in the morning, Maha Lakshmi<\/strong> – the Goddess of Wealth in the afternoon and Mahakali\/ Durga\/ Parvathy<\/strong> – the Goddess of Power in the evening.\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\r\n

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Attukalamma<\/strong>\u00a0is appraised as an avatar of Kannaki, <\/strong>the heroine of ‘Silapathikaram’ of Ilanko Adikal who is regarded as the supreme preserver and destroyer. The architecturally marvelous\u00a0Attukal Bhagavathy Temple<\/a><\/strong> showcases\u00a0<\/strong>an enchanting blend of Kerala and Tamil Nadu style of architecture. The walls of the temple are beautifully adorned with the mythological stories of Hinduism while the temple gopura portrays the stories of\u00a0Kannaki\u00a0<\/strong>on its one side. The major crowd-pleaser is the Dasavatara or the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu inside the temple. Also, intricately carved figures of Mahishasuramardhini, Goddess Kali, Rajarajeswari, Sree Parvathy with Lord Shiva adds to the spellbinding beauty and artistry of the stunning\u00a0Attukal Temple<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

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Legend behind Attukal Bhagavathy Temple:<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

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The legend behind\u00a0Attukal Bhagavathy Temple<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>is associated with Kannaki<\/strong>, a legendary Tamil woman who took revenge on the King of Madurai for a mistaken death penalty imposed on her husband Kovalan by cursing the entire city of Madurai with disaster. After annihilating the entire Kingdom of Madurai,\u00a0Kannaki\u00a0<\/strong>reached\u00a0Attukal<\/strong>. There she disguised herself as a young girl and appeared in front of an old man near the Killi river and requested him to help her cross the river. The old was the head (Karanavar) of the Mulluveetil family, an influential family of the region, and was kind enough to help her cross the river. But her extraordinary charisma made the old man believe that the girl is divine, and he invited her to his home. But she disappeared from there and came back in his sleep that night and asked him to build a temple for her where he found 3 golden lines in his grove. As per the command, he built a temple which came to be known as the\u00a0Attukal Bhagavathy Temple<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

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Popular Tourist Attractions In Trivandrum:<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n

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\"\"Trivandrum<\/strong>, the capital city of\u00a0Kerala<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>is a great place that has amazing historical and natural wealth and is of great spiritual significance too. Dotted with world-renowned temples, palaces, to captivating tourist spots,\u00a0Trivandrum<\/strong>\u00a0is a wonderful place to explore in\u00a0Kerala<\/strong><\/a>. Some of the popular tourist attractions here are:\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

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