Pongal

Pongal is one of the major festivals of South Bharat. This festival is celebrated for a period of four days, beginning with the day before Makara Sankranti. Makara Sankranti is always on the fourteenth of January, as it is the only Hindu festival that follows the solar calendar, so it always falls on the same day. It is the day on which the sun begins its northern journey and comes into the tenth house of the Vedic zodiac, which is makara or Capricorn. It is the beginning of the six-month period of the Hindu calendar known as “Uttarayanam” or the northward path of the sun. The Pongal festival is a four-day affair. Each day is marked by different festivities. The first day is known as “Bhogi Pongal,” the second day is called “Thai Pongal,” the third day is known as “Mattu Pongal,” and the fourth day is called “Kaanum Pongal.”

On the first day called “Bhogi,” people collect all the old and useless things in the house and burn them. The esoteric meaning is that we should burn our negative memories and other useless bits of baggage that the mind carries before the start of a new year. The second day is called “Thai Pongal” since it comes on the first day of the Tamil month of Thai. This is the day when we make payasam or kheer to be offered to the sun. The third day is called “Mattu Pongal.” Madu means “cattle” in Tamil. This is a very sweet custom when the farmers bring out their cattle and decorate them and feed them with tasty titbits to show their appreciation for the help they have rendered during the year. The famous game called “jellikettu” takes place on this day, which is actually a bull race. The fourth and final day is celebrated as “Kaanum Pongal.” On this day, the leftovers (food) are placed on a washed turmeric leaf along with sugarcane and betel leaves and put out for the birds and insects to eat. The women then perform a ritual praying for the prosperity of their brothers. On this day, people go and visit relatives and friends or just go for outings in nature.

The life of a farmer in Bharat is indeed hard. He has to take bank loans for getting fodder and seeds, etc., and despite all his hard work, the monsoons may fail or prices fall, and he will be unable to repay the loan. We seldom think of these things when we eat the rice or the chapattis on our plates.

The history of this festival can be traced back to the times of the Sangam Age, i.e., from 200 BC to 300 AD. Many of the Puranas also mention Pongal. Initially, this festival was celebrated as a Dravidian Harvest festival during the reign of the Dravidian kings of Bharat. At that time, it was known as “Thai Niradal.” It was the custom in those days for unmarried girls to fast and pray to the goddess Kartyayani for the agricultural prosperity of the country.

Then came the Pallava dynasty, who used to celebrate the festival as “Pavai Nonbu.” It was celebrated during the Tamil month of Margazhi. Young girls carried on the tradition by offering prayers to the goddess for sending rain and having a good crop. Throughout the month of this festivity, they did not consume milk or any milk products. Neither did they put oil in their hair during this period. In other words, they followed a strict regime of avoiding all luxuries and concentrating on praying for the prosperity of their land.

The festival, as well as the penances which the girls undertook, has been vividly described in Andal's Tiruppavai and Manickavachakar's Tiruvembavai. Andal was a famous woman saint of Tamil Nadu, and Manickavachakar was one of the four ardent devotees of Lord Shiva. The Chola King, Kiluttunga used to present lands to the Veeraraghava temple at Tiruvallur, to ensure that the festival was celebrated on a grand scale. So we can see the antiquity of this festival.

It is basically a harvest festival in Tamil Nadu, and newly harvested grains like rice, sugarcane, and turmeric are cooked for the first time on this day.

On this auspicious day, the sun is worshipped as the embodiment of the divine. The sun is considered the pratyaksha devata or “the god that is visible to our eyes.”

The term “Pongal” is derived from the Tamil language and means “to boil over.” On the second day known as “Thai Pongal” (Makara Sankranti in the north) a concoction of milk, sugar, and rice known as payasam is cooked in a mud pot (preferably) outside the house, facing east. The payasam or kheer is supposed to boil over just as the sun rises. This is an offering to the sun. This is later distributed to everyone. The poor are fed and given clothes on this occasion. The next day is known as “Mattu Pongal.” On this day, the cow is worshipped. Other animals and birds are also fed. It is a form of thanksgiving to the entire creation and the power that sustains all life. On the third day, there is a big gathering of all the family, relations, and friends. So the whole festival is about restoring our relationships with everything and everyone – with Nature, with the universe, and with each other.

It is an interesting fact that all Hindu festivals have some association with the planets, in this case with the sun. Bharat is an ancient country, and we have always kept our traditions. This is what has kept our country and our culture together. Our culture is being buffeted by so many western influences at this point in our history that our children have very little idea about all these festivals. The Sanatana Dharma is the oldest and most precious culture ever seen in the world, and this generation has a very serious duty to keep it alive. So it is very important that all Hindu households keep following these traditions so that we can hand over this precious gift to the next generation.

Loka Samasthat Sukhino Bhavantu!

Let the Whole World be Happy!