Kottayam: The renowned Chakkulathukavu Bhagavathy Temple has announced the schedule for its famous Pongala festival, a significant event that attracts thousands of devotees from across South India. The festivities will begin with the Kartika Stambham ceremony on Sunday, December 8, followed by the grand Pongala ritual on Wednesday, December 13.
The Pongala festival, a prominent multi-faith pilgrimage event, will commence at 4:00 AM with Nirmalya Darshanam and an Ashtadravya Maha Ganapathi Homam. At 9:00 AM, the temple trust president and chief administrator Radhakrishnan Namboothiri will ignite the Pongala hearth using fire drawn from the temple’s sacred lamp. This marks the start of the ritual, overseen by temple administrator Manikuttan Namboothiri.
Union Minister of State for Tourism and Petroleum, Suresh Gopi, along with his wife Radhika Suresh Gopi, will officially inaugurate the Pongala ceremony. Reji Cherian, a prominent social worker and chairman of RC Charitable Trust, will be the chief guest.
Under the spiritual guidance of temple chief priest Ashokan Namboothiri, the ritual will see contributions from trustees Ranjith B. Namboothiri and Durga Dathan Namboothiri. On December 11, over 500 Vedic scholars will lead the ceremonial procession of the deity across 51 jeevatas, culminating in the grand offering of the devotees’ Pongala.
