Several lakhs of women offer Pongala to Attukal Devi
Thiruvananthapuram/UNI: Several lakhs of women on Monday offered Attukal Pongala, an exclusive women festival considered as the largest congregation of women in the world in a single place on a single day irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
Devotees, including celebrities and foreign nationals especially women, who flocked to a 10-km radius of the Attukal Devi temple in this capital city, offered Pongala to appease Goddess of the temple known as Sabarimala of women.
The rituals began at 1020 hrs sharp as the Chief Priest of the temple lit the makeshift stove with fire brought from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. After that, the fire was passed on to the stoves of women who lined up on either sides of the roads leading to the shrine.
After this, the devotees across the city lit their hearths to prepare various offerings. The ritual concludes with the sprinkling of holy water on the hearths by 1410 hrs, for which 250 priests were deputed for the purpose.
The women devotees, who gathered with their cooking pots to perform the ritual for the health and prosperity of their families, offered Pongala -- a sweet rice, prepared in earthen pots using rice, jaggery and coconut -- to appease the presiding deity of the temple.
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