Kerala – Attukal Bhagavathy Mandir
This mandir is at 2 km southeast of Padmanabhaswamy, it holds a special position among ancient temples of Kerala. This temple is for Attukal/ Parvathi), a supreme preserver or destroyer, capable in granting wishes.
A festival of Attukal Pongala lasts for 10 days. The festival begins from a recitation of Goddess Attukal’s story & ends with a defeat of the Pandya King. The story signifies victory of good over evil, light over darkness & justice over injustice. In the end of this recitation, rituals for Attukal Pongala begins with igniting fire on the temple hearth. The fire will then be passed on to a women ready for offering Pongala (rice cooked with jaggery, ghee, coconut as well as few more ingredients) and the same fire is given to women, who are there to offer Pongala to Attukal to seek her blessings..
Rush of women is so intense that Pongala ground spreads outside the complex. In this festival Kuthiyottam is performed via boys below the age of 13 year, & Thalappoli is performed by girls on the ninth day of this festival. Cultural clothing of young girls is a major attraction, they have Thaalam with flowers, a lighted oil lamp, & offerings for Attukal Amma.
The Architecture of the temple is a great combination of both Kerala and Tamil styles of architecture. The Gopurams are designed with icons of the story of goddess Kannaki (Parvathi) .The Exterior of the Attukal temple shows sculptures of gods, and stories from Dassavataram. The temple doors & walls in interior side of the temple are covered with sculptures of Siva, Lord Ganapathi, etc.
The most attractive feature of this temple is Attukal Pongala festival because it has reached the Guinness Book of Records for biggest annual gathering of Women. Every year hundreds of people seek the blessings and witness this amazing event.