Also known as: Annakut, Bali Pratipada, Diwali Padwa, Bestu Varas (Gujarati New Year) · Observed: North India, especially Braj; Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka as Bali Pratipada
Significance of Govardhan Puja
Govardhan Puja, celebrated on the day after Diwali, honours Lord Krishna's lifting of Govardhan hill to protect the people and cattle of Braj. It celebrates the nourishment provided by nature, the cow and the earth, and teaches that devotion and humility are greater than pride and ritual for its own sake. The festival is also called Annakut, the mountain of food, after its central offering of many dishes arranged in the shape of a hill.
In western and southern India, the same day is Bali Pratipada, honouring the generous King Mahabali, and in Gujarat it is the first day of the new year in the Vikram Samvat calendar.
The Legend of Govardhan
The Bhagavata Purana relates that the cowherds of Braj used to hold a great sacrifice each year in honour of Indra, the god of rain. The young Krishna persuaded them instead to worship Govardhan hill, which provided grass for their cows, water and shelter. Angered, Indra sent torrential rain and storms for seven days to flood the village. Krishna lifted Govardhan on the little finger of his left hand and held it like an umbrella, sheltering all the people and animals beneath it. At the end of seven days Indra realised his error, came to Krishna and begged forgiveness, and Krishna was hailed as Govinda, protector of cows.
How Govardhan Puja Is Celebrated
In North Indian homes a small hill representing Govardhan is shaped from cow dung in the courtyard, decorated with flowers and figures of cows and cowherds, and worshipped with circumambulation. Cattle are bathed, decorated with colours and garlands, and fed special food. In temples, especially in Mathura, Vrindavan and Nathdwara, the Annakut offering of fifty-six or more dishes, the chappan bhog, is arranged before the deity and later distributed. Thousands of pilgrims perform the parikrama of Govardhan hill, about twenty-one kilometres around.
In Maharashtra and Karnataka, Bali Pratipada or Padwa celebrates Mahabali, with wives performing aarti for their husbands and receiving gifts, and images of Bali drawn in rangoli or made of cow dung. In Gujarat, Bestu Varas is New Year's Day, when people greet one another with 'Saal Mubarak', visit temples and start new account books.
How the Date Is Determined
Govardhan Puja falls on Kartika Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright fortnight of Kartika, which is the day after the Diwali new moon. It is observed on the day when Pratipada prevails at sunrise or in the morning. If the new moon extends far into the next day, the Pratipada observance may move by a day, and in some years there is a gap of one day between Diwali and Govardhan Puja.
Rituals and customs
- Making a Govardhan hill of cow dung and worshipping it
- Annakut offering of many dishes to Krishna
- Decorating and feeding cattle
- Parikrama of Govardhan hill in Braj
- Bali Pratipada aarti in Maharashtra and Karnataka
- New Year greetings and account books in Gujarat