Pongal is one of the most significant and grandly celebrated festivals in Tamil Nadu. The four days celebration of Pongal is a symbolof gratitude toward God and nature for providing us food and resources. People celebrate Pongal after harvesting the crops; the festival is mainly celebrated in South India, but it is also celebrated in other regions as well with different names.
Like any other festival, Pongal has its legends too. The two major legends we are going to converse today are-
Legend of Mount Govardhan
This legend is related to Lord Indra and Krishna. The first day of Pongal is mainly celebrated to remember this legend. Since Lord Indra is the God of clouds and rain, people in Mathura used to worship Lord Indra every year. They would perform Puja and many offerings to please Indra. This gesture of the village people filled Indra with the arrogance that he estimated himself as the supreme power.
Lord Krishna got to know about the egoistic nature of Indra and his pride. Krishna at that time was in his child stage; he persuaded his cowherd friends to worship Govardhan instead of Indra that year. People did the same; they worshipped Govardhan and left Indra unrecognized.
This made Indra so infuriated that he sent nonstop thunder, lightning, and flood to the village. Indra wanted to teach the village people a lesson for life. Krishna seeing everything in chaos and frightened people, lifted the Govardhan hill on his little finger. He called everyone to take shelter under the Govardhan Parvat. All people and cattle were sheltered under the hill; everyone understood that Krishna is not any simple child but the avatar of the almighty.
Indra didn’t stop rain for many days, and Krishna, with all people and animals, remained under the hill. Then one day, Indra realized his mistake, and he understood that Krishna is the supreme power and the force of the universe. He begged Krishna for his forgiveness; Krishna being the supreme and big-hearted, forgave Indra. He also let the celebration happen in honor of Indra that is now known as Bhogi, the first day of Pongal.
Legend of Lord Shiva
The legend is about the third day of Pongal, which is called Mattu Pongal. The legend takes us to the time when once Shiva told his mount Nandi, the bull, to go on Earth and ask people to have an oil massage and bath daily and to eat food once a month.
Nandi went on to Earth to deliver the message, and mistakenly he asked the people the opposite. He asked them to have an oil massage and bath once a month and to eat food daily. This reckless behavior of Nandi enraged Shiva, and in anger, Shiva cursed Nadi to live on Earth and help the farmers to plow their fields to produce more grain.
The moment Shiva cursed Nandi, he banished from Kailash and arrived on Earth. Since then, the bullsplowthe fields, they are the biggest help of the farmers who don’t own any technological advancements for agriculture.
The day is also celebrated in Maharashtra, and it is specifically celebrated by married women. On this day, married women do a get-together, which is known as “Haldi-Kumkum.” They give the gift of a utensil to each other that they purchased for the event. This is also the day which is celebrated as Makar Sankranti, on which a newlywed woman gives away oil, cotton, and sesame seeds. This is a belief that giving away all these items invites long life and prosperity to her family.
However, since the bull helps the farmers in the field, and he has been a major part of agriculture, on the third day of Pongal, farmers give respect to their animals. People clean their cattle, and they decorate their animals such as bulls, cows, and buffaloes with garlands and bells. They also paint their horns to make them look beautiful. This ritual is very famous and attracts a big crowd in villages. All people come outside to witness the decoration of the animals, and farmers invest plenty of time to décor their animals and do the Puja.
This year Pongal will be celebrated from 14th January to 17th January 2021.
