| The Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple & Attukal | | | | all his wealth, he went back to Kannagi. Then the only |
| Temple are the most ancient temples in Trivandrum, | | | | valuable thing that remained to be sold was her pair of |
| India. | | | | anklets. Thus they decided to sell it and went to the |
| The Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple at Trivandrum, | | | | king of Madurai for the purpose. At the same time, a |
| constructed in the Dravidian style has a 30-metre | | | | similar pair of anklets was stolen from the Queen. |
| Gopuram (tower) and is adorned with 365 pillars, | | | | Thus when he tried to sell it, he was mistaken for the |
| equaling the total number of days in a year. Vishnu is | | | | thief and was decapitated by the king's soldiers. |
| the prominent deity of the temple. A visitor can view | | | | The temple is famous for the annual Attukal Pongala |
| the deity only through three different doors. There is a | | | | festival in which over a million of women take part. It is |
| shrine of Lord Krishna with a finely carved prayer | | | | the greatest gathering of women on earth who come |
| meeting venue and a shrine to Kshetrapala (the temple | | | | to defend their agonies by offering pongala to Attukal |
| guardian) with an extraordinarily beautiful ceiling and | | | | Bhagavati. Pongala is a purgation of emotion which |
| fascinating murals on the inner walls. A hall with 1000 | | | | results in figurative cleansing of the emotions leaving |
| pillars could be seen outside the inner sanctum. | | | | the mind calm and clean. Attukal Pongala has become |
| The Attukal Temple is a place of religious devotion | | | | a symbol of devotion and dedication to Devi, the |
| towards goddess Bhagavathy and is located in | | | | Mother goddess and above all a celebration of |
| Trivandrum, Kerala, India. It is popularly described as | | | | womanhood. Pongala explores the inner chemistry of |
| Sabarimala of the Women, as women form the major | | | | the body, mind and soul, thus recharging the devotee |
| portion of devotees. | | | | with a sublime happiness and makes her spiritually and |
| The Goddess Parvathi is the main deity in this temple. | | | | mentally equipped to face the challenges of the future. |
| She was married to Kovalan who was the son of a | | | | It has also entered the Guinness Book of World |
| wealthy merchant. But he met a dancer and spent all | | | | Records twice as the largest gathering of women in |
| his wealth on her forgetting his wife. But when he lost | | | | the world. |