Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated on a
grand scale in Tamilnadu, Puducherry and
Srilanka. And hence, is known as ‘Tamil
Festival’. It is celebrated at the end of
harvest season over four days i.e. from
the last day of Tamil month ‘Margazhi’ to
the third day of the Tamil month ‘Thai’.
Pongal
Sri Ramana Bhaktha Samajam
Chennai
January 9, 2015
Pongal
2....
Aum Namo Bhagaavate Sri Ramanaya
THE FESTIVAL OF TAMILNADU – PONGAL
Introduction
Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated on a grand scale in Tamilnadu, Puducherry and
Srilanka. And hence, is known as ‘Tamil Festival’. It is celebrated at the end of harvest
season over four days i.e. from the last day of Tamil month ‘Margazhi’ to the third day of the
Tamil month ‘Thai’. Out of four days, the second day, i.e. the first of ‘Thai’ is the main day of
the festival and known as ‘Thai Pongal’. The name of the festival is derived from the
meaning of the Tamil word, Pongal – ‘to boil over’ or ‘over flowing’ which signifies
‘abundance and prosperity’. Agriculture was the only major activity in those days unlike the
industrial and IT revolution experienced today. The riches gained from good harvest formed
the economic prosperity and affluence in the society. Hence the whole festival is all about
‘thanks giving’ to Sun-god who is the sustainer of all agricultural activities and cattle that
helped ploughing the land to prepare the land for next season. Also, the cattle helped
transportation of the agricultural produce.
Tamils often quote the famous proverb “Thai piranthal vazhi pirakum” meaning
“commencement of Thai opens out new opportunities” and strongly believe that advent of
‘Thai’ will bring solutions to long-standing family problems. Emotionally connected with the
day-to-day activities of Tamil people, ‘Thai Pongal’ is referred to as ‘Tamizhar Thiru Naal’.
First Day
The first day is celebrated as ‘Bhogi’ in honour of Lord Indra,
who is the Lord of clouds that bring in rains. This is the day when old
things are discarded, the house is cleaned, painted, decorated to
give a festive look. At dawn, a fire is lit and old, useless and used
articles are burnt, the best way for disposal of dead stocks.
Second Day
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This is the most important day of the festival. Pooja (worship) is performed with
devotion to Sun-god who is the major source of energy for
cultivation. The intensity of devotion is to be seen to be believed,
in the villages in rural Tamilnadu. An uniform pattern can be
seen in the worship of Sun-god. Kolam, an auspicious design
traced in white lime powder before the house in the early
morning is the first offering to Sun-god.
A turmeric plant is tied around the pot
in which rice is to be boiled. Two sticks
of Sugarcane, coconut and bananas in a
plate are kept behind the pot. Then rice
is boiled with milk in the earthenware
pot till it overflows which is the symbolic offering to Sun-god along
with other oblations. All people wear traditional dress and markings and an interesting ritual
follows wherein the head of the family and his wife give in charity the elegant utensils used
for the pooja to the needy and lesser privileged in the society.
Third Day
On the third day, Thanks-giving is offered to the cows and cattle for their enormous
role in Indian farmstead for ploughing,
transporting, providing dairy products and
fertilizer [cow-dung]. And hence, is known as “The
Pongal day for cows” which translated into Tamil
reads “Mattu Pongal”. Multi coloured beads,
tinkling bells, sheaves of corn and flower garlands
are tied around the neck of the cattle by way of
recognition and affection. After applying kumkum
on their foreheads, they are fed with Pongal,
jiggery, honey, banana, fruits etc and then are
taken around the village. Their horns are painted
with different colours. The high decibels of their resounding bells attract villagers and often,
there is a race among each other’s cattle. The entire atmosphere is full of fun and revelry.
Adventurous games like Jallikattu, taming of wild bull are features of the day. Arati [Pooja] is
performed for the cattle in the evening. In short, this third day is “Worship of cattle”. Hindu
way of worship of cattle is a lesson to the world as intellectuals today strongly emphasize
vegetarian food and non-violence to animals in support of the voiceless.
‘Kanu pidi’ is the tradition observed by the women folk on this day. They pray for the
welfare of their brothers and request god that their brother-sister ties remain strong
forever. For this purpose, they feed birds with ‘kanu pidi’ which means the ‘feed measuring
a handful’, a small quantity but quite sufficient for birds. ‘Kanu pidi’ consists of different
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kinds of coloured rice, cooked vegetables, sweet Pongal, banana etc. which are spread over
a ginger or turmeric leaf. Usually crows descend on them in hordes to enjoy “kaka pidi- kanu
pidi”. While birds are feeding on them, ladies and young girls of the house offer prayers with
strong conviction that their relationship with brothers will turn out to be as strong as the
family of crows.
Fourth Day
This is time for family reunions. On the day, landlords present gifts of food, clothes,
money etc to their workforce. Brothers give special gifts to their married sisters. Relatives
meet each other, youngsters pay respect to elders.
Hence this is a day of visit for relatives and friends.
In Tamil ‘kaanum’ means ‘to visit’. So, this day is
rightfully termed as “Kaanum Pongal”. This is a day of
relaxation from the hard work people put in during
cultivation and also enables one to recoup from the
exhaustion that results due to celebrations, fun and
revelry in the previous 3 days.
Some Observations In General On Pongal
The second day of Pongal festival, i.e. the first day of Tamil month ‘Thai’ coincides
with ‘Makara Sankaranthi’ which is a harvest festival celebrated throughout India in winter.
This marks the start of Sun’s Six-month long journey northwards (in Sanskrit –
Uttarayanam). This day also represents the sun entering the 10th house of Indian Zodiac i.e.
Makaram(or Capricorn).
This festival is celebrated in Andhra Pradesh, westbengal, Uttar pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala, Manipur,
and Nepal as “Makara Sankaranthi” and in Haryana, Punjab,Himachal Pradesh as “Lohiri”
and in Assam as “Bhogali Bihu”. Hence, this is a grand festival celebrated throughout Bharat.
Sangam Era And Pongal Festival
As part of Pongal festival, the womenfolk in Sangam Era observed ‘Pavai Nonbu’
and “Thai Neeraadal (the sacred bath in Thai)”. Throughout Tamil month ‘Margazhi’, girls
pray for rain and prosperity for the ensuing year; they avoid milk and milk products; they
would not oil their hair and will not speak harsh words; they worship Goddess Katyayani
which would be carved out of wet sand; they would end their penance on Thai Pongal day
(the second day of Pongal festival) by taking Holy Bath i.e. “Thai Neeraadal”. During Pallava
Rule, (4th to 8th century), ‘Thai Neeraadal’ was a major item in Pongal festival. According to
the inscription found in Veeraraghava temple in Thiruvallur, the Chola king, Kulothunga used
to gift lands to the temple, especially for Pongal festival. Sangam literature (200 BC to 300
AD) abounds with references on Pongal festival. Andal’s ‘Thiruppavai’ and manikavasagr’s
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‘Thiruvembavai’ vividly describe ‘Thai Neeraadal’ and the ritual of young girls observing
‘Pavai Nonbu’.
Legends Associated With Ponga
Two legendary stories out of Indian mythology deserve
mention here.
According to one legend, Lord Siva ordered
Nandikeswara to convey the message to mortals that they
should have oil massage & take bath everyday and eat once in
a month. By mistake, Nandikeswara announced that everyone should eat daily and take oil
bath once in a month. Enraged Lord Siva cursed Nandikeswara (Bull) that he should be on
earth as cattle forever and help the mortals in cultivation. Thus is the association of cattle
with Pongal.
Another legend is that Lord Indra, the Master of clouds, once, became very
arrogant. To punish him, Lord Krishna suggested his people to stop pooja to Lord Indraon
the First Day of Pongal, i.e. Bhogi and instead offer the same to Govardhan Hill. Lord Indra
got angry thinking Lord Krishna a mere mortal and sent heavy rains with thunder storms for
7 days continuously. Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill to save all humans and cattle.
Defeated and helpless, Lord indra, came down on earth & apologized to Lord Krishna in
person. The conqueror became the conquered. Thus Lord Krishna himself gave importance
to cattle and strengthened the belief in Pongal festival.
Let this Thai Pongal bring prosperity and affluence to all of us.
Wishing you all a very “Happy Pongal”
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Pongal
Aum Sri Ramanarpanamastu
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