Like all Hindu festivals, Pongal too has some interesting legends attached to it. But surprisingly, this festival has little or no mention in the Puranas, which are usually bristled with tales and legends related with festivals. This is perhaps because Pongal is preeminently a Dravidian harvest festival and has somehow managed to keep itself away from the preponderance of Indo-Aryan influences.
The Mt. Govardhan Tale
The most popular Pongal legend is the one associated with the first day of the celebrations when Lord Indra is worshipped. The story behind it is, on this day Indra being honored by all, became proud and arrogant. To teach him a lesson, Lord Krishna asked his cowherd friends to worship Mount Govardhan instead of Indra on the Bhogi Pongal day.Awfully infuriated, Indra sent forth the clouds to generate thunder, lightning and heavy rains and flood the land. But, as the tale goes, Lord Krishna lifted up the Govardhan Mountain on his little finger and sheltered the farmers, cowherd and their cattle. Indra then begged Shri Krishna's forgiveness and the latter re-permitted Bhogi celebrations in honor of Indra.
The Nandi Bull Story
According to another legend associated with Mattu Pongal, the third day of celebrations, Lord Shiva once asked his Nandi bull to go to earth and deliver a special message to his disciples: "Have an oil bath everyday, and food once a month."But the baffled bovine failed to deliver the correct message. He told the people that Shiva asked them to "have an oil bath once a month, and food everyday." The enraged Shiva then ordered Nandi to stay back on earth and help the people plough the fields, since they would now need to grow more grains.
