Govardhan Puja (Annakut)

About

Govardhan Puja is observed on Kartika Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright half of the month of Kartika. It falls the day after the main Diwali night in most years, and it is the fourth day of the Diwali season for many families. Because tithis can start and end at any hour, the day is sometimes shifted by the calendar. The site shows the correct date for your city.

The festival is also called Annakut (anna = grain, food; kut = heap or mountain). On this day a great heap of cooked food is offered to Krishna, who is remembered as the one who lifted Govardhan Hill.

Significance and stories

The Bhagavata Purana tells of Krishna as a boy in Vrindavan. The cowherds were preparing the yearly offering to Indra, the lord of rain. Krishna gently asked why they should not honour the hill that fed their cows, gave them grass and water, and sheltered them. The villagers agreed and offered their food to Govardhan instead.

Indra was offended and sent heavy storms. Krishna lifted the hill on the little finger of his left hand, and the people and their cattle sheltered under it for seven days. At last Indra recognised his mistake and withdrew the rain. The hill is still worshipped in the Braj region, near Mathura, and is lovingly called Giriraj (giri = mountain, raj = king).

The festival carries a quiet message: gratitude toward the land, the animals and the food that keep a community alive, and humility before the forces of nature.

How to observe (puja vidhi)

1. Wake early, bathe and wear clean clothes. Many families start the day with a small lamp before the family shrine.
2. Make a small image of Govardhan Hill on a clean board or tray. Traditionally it is shaped from cow dung, shown as a reclining figure or a mound. Fresh clay, wheat flour dough or a drawn picture are also used.
3. Decorate the figure with flowers, small clay lamps and sometimes tiny cow figures, a plough and herdsmen.
4. Place a lamp, incense, kumkum, rice and flowers before it. Offer water, then chandan or kumkum, then flowers.
5. Arrange the food offering (bhog) around it. Offer every dish with a Tulsi leaf, if your family follows that custom.
6. Say a short prayer or sing a Krishna aarti. A simple mantra is Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya (ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय). Ask a priest or elder to guide pronunciation.
7. Walk around the figure clockwise (parikrama) if space allows, then share the food as prasad.
8. In some homes, cows and bullocks are washed, decorated and fed on this day.

Puja items (samagri)

• A board or tray and cow dung, clay or flour dough for the hill
• Flowers, Tulsi leaves, kumkum, turmeric, rice grains
• Ghee lamp or oil lamp, incense, camphor
• Water, milk, curd, honey and sugar if you also offer panchamrit
• Many cooked vegetarian dishes for bhog, such as kadhi, rice, puri, dal, several vegetables, sweets
• Wheat, jaggery and fresh sweets for the mound of grain

Fasting and food

Govardhan Puja is a day of feasting, not fasting. The food offered is entirely vegetarian and prepared at home or in a temple kitchen without onion and garlic in most traditions. Many temples prepare dozens or even hundreds of dishes. After the offering, everyone eats together.

Regional customs

In Braj (Mathura, Vrindavan, Govardhan), devotees perform the parikrama, a circuit of the hill that is roughly 21 kilometres long. In Maharashtra the day is Diwali Padwa or Bali Pratipada, when wives greet their husbands with aarti and husbands give gifts. In Rajasthan, especially in Nathdwara, Annakut is a very large temple event. In Gujarat the day is Bestu Varas, the New Year, and many families visit temples for Annakut darshan.

Celebrating in the USA

If you cannot make a dung figure, a small mound of clean clay, dough or a framed picture of Govardhan works well. Many Hindu temples across the USA hold an Annakut on a weekend near the festival, with a display of dozens of dishes and a community meal. Check your local temple's schedule, because the temple may choose the nearest weekend.

At home, use a low flame or an electric diya if smoke alarms are a concern in your apartment. If the tithi falls on a working day, do a brief puja before work and offer a simple meal in the evening with the family. Ingredients for the usual dishes are easy to find at Indian grocery stores.