Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam is a major women's festival celebrated in Chennai, where thousands of women gather to prepare Pongala as an offering to Goddess Attukal Devi. The festival is held at the Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, where devotees worship Kannagi, believed to be an incarnation of Goddess Parvati. (PICS/PTI)
Updated On: 2025-03-13 02:13 PM IST
Compiled by : Anisha Shrivastava
The festival's high point, the Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam event, takes place on the ninth day. A sweet delicacy called Pongala made of rice, jaggery, ghee, and coconut in earthen pots is offered to the goddess by thousands of ladies.
The Kuruthitharpanam sacrificial offering is performed at night on the tenth day to mark the festival's conclusion
According to Guinness World Records, the festival is the biggest yearly assembly of women. Presently, Attukal Pongala is attended by more than 40 lakh devotees. When 1.5 million women took part in Pongala on February 23, 1997, the ceremony was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records
