Naranga Vilakku at Attukal Bhagavathy Temple, Thiruvananthapuram

Attukal Bhagavathy Temple also known as the “the Sabarimala of Women” located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, has a very special place among other shrines of south India. The temple is world famous for its annual Pongala festival, in which over a million women participate.

The significance of the festival is so much that it entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest single gathering of women. The temple is dedicated to goddess Kannaki (Parvathi), the supreme preserver and destroyer. Shown here are devotees offering Naranga Vilakku (lemon lamp) at the Attukal temple, the abode of divine power.