No Pongala offering in public places; Rituals to begin by 10.20 am; Traffic regulations in place

Thiruvananthapuram: The famous Attukal Pongala will be held today. The pongala ceremony will start at 10.20 am and ‘Pongala Nivedyam’ will be held by 1.20 pm.

The pongala ritual takes place on the penultimate day of the 10-day-long Attukal festival and is done by women. Earlier, they used to sit on the road that starts from the temple and extends to all other parts of the city. However, due to Covid-19 restrictions, this is not allowed this year. Devotees are directed to cook pongala at their homes.
 
On account of the festival, it is a public holiday for all in the capital district.
 
The temple, located in the heart of the city, is dedicated to Attukal Bhagavathi, believed to be an incarnation of Kannaki, the central character of the Tamil epic 'Silappathikaaram'.
 
The rituals begin when the chief priest of the Attukal Bhagavathi Temple lights the makeshift stove with fire brought from the sanctum sanctorum of the temple. 
 
The fire is then passed on to the stoves of the women who line up to cook their offering using rice, jaggery and coconut.
 
According to the traditions, the women who take part in the Pongala festival have to be dressed in new clothes and every item used for cooking the 'divine' pongala has to be brand new.

The chief priest will offer the pongala by 1.20 pm. Attukal Temple Trust informed that priests have not been appointed to offer 'nivedyam' for the pongala prepared at homes.

This year’s festival will end by early morning on Saturday.