Attukal Pongala begins

Wednesday, March 7, 2012: The much-awaited Attukal Pongala ritual kicked off with the temple’s tantri Chenas Dineshan Namboodiri handing over the sacred flame from inside the sanctum sanctorum to melsanthi Goshala Vishnu Vasudevan Namboodiri and who in turn lighted the traditional hearth in the presence of hundreds of worshippers.
The fire was then passed on from pandara aduppu to all other pongala hearths. The ritual will conclude with the sprinkling of holy water on the offerings at 2.15 pm. More than 35 lakh devotees are expected to offer pongala.