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| The 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.
Devi ATTUKALAMMA is considered as the incarnation of 'Kannaki', the heroine of 'Silappathikaram' by Tamil Poet Illango in 2nd century A.D and Attukal is one of the places where Kannaki took rest on her journey northward from Madurai to Kodungallur.
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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.