Govardhan Puja: What, Why, When, How

What it is

Govardhan Puja is kept on the first day of the bright half of Kartika, usually the morning after Lakshmi Puja. It remembers how Krishna lifted the hill Govardhan to shelter the people and cattle of Vraja from a storm. Families shape a small hill, often from cow dung in North Indian villages and from food or clay elsewhere, worship it and walk around it, and offer Krishna a "mountain of food", the Annakut, made of dozens of dishes, which is then shared.

The same day has other names. Gujarati families celebrate their New Year (Bestu Varas). In Maharashtra and Karnataka it is Bali Pratipada, which remembers King Bali, and Marathi couples keep it as Padwa. Temples of Krishna, above all in Vraja and in Nathdwara, offer a great Annakut, and many temples abroad do the same.

Why it is kept

Worship the hill that feeds you. The Vishnu Purana (book 5, chapters 10 and 11) and the Bhagavata Purana (book 10, chapters 24 and 25) tell how the cowherds of Vraja were preparing their yearly offering to Indra, the god of rain. The young Krishna asked them to honour instead what truly sustained them: the hill Govardhan, its pastures and their cattle. They agreed, worshipped the hill, fed everyone who came, and walked around the cows and the hill.

Indra's storm. Indra, angry at the loss of his offering, sent a great storm on Vraja. Krishna lifted the hill and held it up like an umbrella, and everyone sheltered beneath it with their cattle. In H. H. Wilson's translation, “For seven days and nights did the vast clouds sent by Indra rain upon the Gokula of Nanda” (book 5, chapter 11). When the storm ended, Krishna set the hill back in its place, and Indra came to honour him.

Annakut. The great offering of food recalls the feast the cowherds offered at the hill. Temples and families cook as many dishes as they can and arrange them as a mountain before Krishna; in the Pushtimarg tradition the Annakut is one of the great festivals of the year.

Bali Pratipada and the new year. In Maharashtra and Karnataka the day remembers Bali, the generous king of the Vamana story, and tradition says he returns to visit his people on this day. Gujarati families begin their new year on this day, with new account books opened at the Lakshmi Puja.

The texts behind the story

• Vishnu Purana, book 5, chapters 10–11 (the worship of Govardhana and Indra's storm). H. H. Wilson (tr.), The Vishnu Purana (London: John Murray, 1840). Wilson died 1860: public domain. Quoted verbatim. (book 5, chapters 10–11, pp. 522–528; the quotation on p. 527)
• Bhagavata Purana, book 10, chapters 24–25 (Govardhana), and book 8 (Bali and Vamana). Summarised in our own words; Bali's yearly visit is regional tradition.
• Kartika Shukla Pratipada as Bali Pratipada and one of the most auspicious days; the worship of Bali (Bhavishyottara Purana); the worship of cows; Govardhana Puja in the morning, with a hill made of cow dung or of heaps of cooked food, called Annakuta in the Padma Purana (as the Smrtikaustubha says). Read in P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, vol. 5, part 1 (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1958). Kane died 1972: cited, not quoted. (vol. 5, part 1, pp. 201–205)

When it is kept

Govardhan Puja is the Shukla Pratipada of Kartika that is present during pratahkala, the first of the five equal parts of the daytime at your location. If Pratipada holds the morning on both days, the first is taken; if it touches no morning at all, the next day is taken, following the rule of Vaishnava calendars computed by the GCal program.

The date, from the calendar engine

• Govardhan Puja 2027: Puja falls on Friday, October 29, 2027 in Washington DC (computed for this city). In New Delhi it falls on Saturday, October 30, 2027.

The date depends on your city. Every city we cover is on the year page.

Traditions and regional customs

• Kartika Shukla Pratipada in pratahkala; GCal's rule when Pratipada touches no morning
• Gujarati: New Year (Bestu Varas)
• Marathi and Kannada: Bali Pratipada and Padwa
• Pushtimarg and Vraja temples: the Annakut

Why the day can differ

The morning is your own, so Govardhan Puja can fall on different dates in different cities. In some years a day falls between Lakshmi Puja and Govardhan Puja, when the new moon lasts long; the app shows each day for your city. Temples hold their Annakut by their own calendar, sometimes on the next weekend abroad.

How to keep it at home

1. In the morning, shape a small Govardhan hill on a tray or in the courtyard: from cow dung by village custom, or from food, clay or flour dough. Decorate it with flowers, small trees and figures of cows and cowherds, and place a small image of Krishna on it.
2. Worship the hill with water, kumkum, rice, flowers, a lamp and incense, and walk around it, often seven times, singing. Families with cows bathe and decorate them and offer them food.
3. Cook as many dishes as you can for the Annakut, arrange them before Krishna as a small mountain, offer them with a prayer and the aarti, and then share them with family, neighbours and guests.
4. Prayers often said: the Govardhan aarti, the Madhurashtakam, "Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya" and Krishna bhajans. Gujarati families greet the new year with "Saal Mubarak" and visit elders.

Fasting

Govardhan Puja is a feast, not a fast: the custom is to cook and share as much food as possible.

Food

The Annakut has many dishes: a mixed vegetable curry (annakut ki sabzi), kadhi, rice, puri, dal, kheer, halwa, laddoos, dry fruit and pickles. Gujarati homes add new-year sweets and savouries; Pushtimarg temples offer heaps of rice and sweets.

For children

One day a huge storm came to the village where little Krishna lived. Rain poured and poured. So Krishna lifted a whole hill, called Govardhan, with one hand, and held it up like an umbrella. All the people and all the cows came under it and stayed dry for seven days, until the storm was over. On Govardhan Puja families make a small hill of food and thank Krishna for looking after everyone.

Something to do together

Make a small hill from play dough or clay, add little paper trees and cows, and put a toy umbrella or a paper Krishna on top. Help arrange the food for the Annakut.

Sources

• Panchang engine rule govardhan-puja (packages/panchang/data/festivals.json), with the sources it lists.
• Vaisnava Events Calculation in GCAL (GCal algorithm documentation, 2008), the engine's source for the rule when Pratipada touches no morning.
• H. H. Wilson (tr.), The Vishnu Purana (London, 1840), book 5, chapters 10–11. Public domain.
• P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, vol. 5, part 1 (Poona, 1958), pp. 201–205 (Bali Pratipada, Govardhana Puja and Annakuta). Cited, not quoted.

Related guides

• Diwali (Deepavali)
• Dhanteras (Dhanatrayodashi)
• Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali)
• Bhai Dooj (Yama Dvitiya)