Attukal Pongala

Attukal Pongala is a 10-day religious festival celebrated at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple in Thiruvananthapuram in the Indian state of Kerala. 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 (Goddess of the Temple). 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 festival is marked as the largest annual gathering of women by the Guinness World Records. The ceremony was set up in Guinness Book of World Records on February 23, 1997, when 1.5 million women participated in Pongala. In 2009, a new Guinness World Records celebrated 2.5 million attendance. This temple is also known as the '' Sabarimala for women''.

Though it is a Hindu festival, many Christian women in Kerala also offers Pongala to the Goddess.

The Attukal Pongala was held on March 9, 2020. The Attukal Pongala event started at 10.20 am and ends at 2.10 pm with the traditional Nivedyam. Thousands of women participated despite the high alert from the state government against large gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next Attukal Pongala will be held on February 17, 2022.

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Guinness World Records
Hindu festivals in Kerala
Gatherings of women
Hinduism and women

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