Govardhan Puja (Annakut)

The story behind Govardhan Puja (Annakut)

Govardhan Puja falls on the day after Deepawali and recalls Bhagwan Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan on his little finger for seven days, sheltering the people and cattle of Braj from Indra's rains. He had asked them to honour the hill and their herds — what actually fed them — rather than a distant deity, and the festival keeps that reversal. A hill of food, the Annakut, is built and offered, and cows are washed, garlanded and fed first. The day is a thanksgiving to the ground and the animals that sustain a household.

Govardhan Puja (Annakut) Puja Vidhi

1. 1

   Govardhan Rachana

   Build a small hill of cow dung or earth in the courtyard, mark it with a twig, flowers and a lit deep, and place a figure of Krishna at its centre.

2. 2

   Annakut Naivedya

   Prepare a mound of many cooked foods — rice, dal, sabzi, kadhi, puri and sweets — and offer it to Krishna before anyone eats.

3. 3

   Go Puja

   Bathe the cows, apply haldi and kumkum to their foreheads, garland them, and offer them the first portion of the day's food.

4. 4

   Parikrama & Prasad

   Circumambulate the built hill seven times singing the Govardhan aarti, then distribute the annakut as prasad.

Govardhan Puja (Annakut) Mantra

गोवर्धनधराधार गोकुलत्राणकारक। विष्णुबाहुकृतोच्छ्राय गवां कोटिप्रदो भव॥