In the southern state of Kerala, stands the shrine of Attukal Bhagavathi, popularly known as the Sabarimala of women. The visit to the capital city or to the revered Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple is deemed incomplete without bowing down to the grace of Attukal amma. Here she showers blessings as Goddess Kanakki, a reincarnation of Parvathi devi. Her devotees, believe in her benevolence and powers to grant all their wishes. The shrine is believed to have first but by a devotee of Mulluveettil family and later renovated by the devotees over time. Vidyadhiraja Chattambi Swamy, the well known saint of Kerala, is said to have meditated at the temple premises.

Location Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, Thiruvananthapuram

Legend

The legend describes how the Goddess, on her way to Kodungallur  after the annihilation of Madhurai, took the disguise of a young girl and appeared in front of a devotee of the Mulluveetil family. She asked him help to cross the river, to which the man responded and in reverence to the charisma of the young girl, he took her to his house nearby. However, while the people of the house were preparing their welcome, she vanished. That night, she appeared in the dreams of the old man and asked him to construct an abode for her. The man, found the intended spot and constructed a small shrine, which late the devotees rebuilt to the present Attukal temple.

Architecture

The temple architecture combines the architectural styles of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The shrine is adorned with sublimely carved figures of Mahishasuramarddini, Goddess Kali, Rajarajeswari, Sree Parvathy with Lord Shiva. Around the corridors of the temples, many mythological stories of Hinduism is depicted. On either side of the gopuram or tower, are the icons of the story of Kannaki. The entrance gate to the temple is beautifully embellished. There are two idols of the Goddess in the sanctum. There she sits, radiating her divinity and blessings to her devotees. There are shrine for Ganapathy, Lord Shiva and other Gods in the temple.

Picture Courtesy:- www.commons.wikimedia.org

Culture

Busy commercial roads, beautiful coastal beaches and heritage buildings constitute the city of Thiruvananthapuram. Considered one of the 10 greenest cities in India, the city is the hub for government offices, educational institutions, research centres, medical, science and technology centres etc. The affiliation to arts while being part of the erstwhile Travancore kingdom rule continues to the present.

Darsan Info

Temple timings : From 4.30 AM to 12.30 PM and from 5.00 PM to 8.30 PM

Devotees need to take coupon from the counter for any Pooja to be performed inside the Attukal Temple Every year, around the months of Feb-March, on the star of Karthika there commences the ten day long Pongala Mahotsav at Attukal Bhagvathy temple. Processions, bhajans, musical and folk concerts celebrate the divinity of the temple during  the ten days of festivities. Rituals like Kappukettu, Vilakkukettu, thalapoli, Kuthiyottam etc are performed to invoke the blessings of the Goddess. On the 9th day, turing the whole city to the frenzy devotion to the Goddess, is the most famed ceremony of the temple, the Attukal Pongala takes place. On that day, the radius of 7kms around the temple witnesses waves of women from the state and outside, congregate with firewood, earthen pots rice, jaggery, coconut etc. to prepare their offerings to the Goddess. The signal for lighting the hearth is given by the chief priest of the temple which then spreads across the distance to the hearths of the multitude of women devotees. The air fills with the relish of the cooked offering along with their prayers to the Attukal amma. With every passing year, the number of women who prepare their offering to the Goddess increases, making it the single largest gathering of women for a religious activity.

Darsan Dresscode

Devotees are advised to wear clean and conservative attire. Women should wear traditional dress like Saree, salwar kameez or pavadai.

Famous Festival

February -10 day Attukal Pongala Mahotsavam

October - Pooja Vaypu

December - Mandala Vratham

Attukal Pongala:- March 11th 2017

Pongala is the main festival of the Attukal Temple. This is the "Sabarimala of Women", The ten-day-long celebration that is observed according to the Malayalam calendar of Makaram-Kumbham (English- February and March) on the pious Karthika Star and the full moon day of Pooram star. Attukal Pongala is in the Guinness Book of World record as the largest gathering of women in any festival across the globe (2.5 million in 2009) ; at a 8- 10 k m radius, the women devotees cook payasam for the devi.

Kuthiyottam- A puja offered by the 12-year of boys to the deity with the hope of receiving blessing from the divine Goddess. The young boys are the imaginary soldiers of the Goddess Mahishasura Marddini. During the seven days, they have to maintain a righteous life such as sleeping on the floor mat or consuming veg boiled food etc. This is a purity of mind and body. On the third day of the Pongala puja, the boys receive prasadam and start their seven-day long vratam to please the deity.

Thalappoli:-This ritual for the Goddess is performed the girls of 12 years. Dressed in traditional Malayalam clothing, the girls perform the pujan every morning by holding the Thalappoli. They seek blessings, wealth, happiness and beauty from the divine mother.

Vilakkukettu:- A nercha, the Vilakkukettu reaches the temple during the 1st top the 9th day of the festival of Pongal. Watching the Vilakkukettu is really pleasing the eyes. These are the wonderfully ornamented structures bearing the idols and the pictures of the Attukal Devi. These are carried on the heads of the devotees accompanied by chendamelam music.

The Divine Procession:-This gala festival starts from the Attukal temple and reaches the Sastha Temple at Manacaud and after the necessary pujas performed, the deity is taken back to the temple. The Attukal Bhagavathy idol is carried on elephant's back during the procession and thousands of devotees attend the procession to receive the blessings of their deity.

Temple Rituals

The priests perform regular puja and rituals to the deity. Pujas are also conducted for the other deities in the temple like Lord Shiva, Ganapathy etc

Special Rituals

Special pujas like Thulabharam, Vidyarambam, Chorunnu are conducted in the temple. Some of the offerings like Muzhukappu and Kalabhishekam have a long wait period sometimes extending upto a decade

Additional Info

 

There are 20+ veg and Non -Veg restaurants in Attukal Temple vicinity.

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