GovPuja Pic01 Goverdhan Parvat on the Rajasthan side
Goverdhan Puja
-Rohit Kumar Parmar [1]
Govardhan or Annakut Puja, falls on the next day of Deepavali, which is the first day of Shukla Paksha (waxing or brightening phase of moon) of Kartik month of Vikram calendar, corresponding to October/November of the Gregorian Calendar.
Govardhan Puja is celebrated because Lord Krishna symbolically defeated God Indra. As per Bhagavata Puran, Lord Shri Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill on his little finger to provide shelter to villagers of Vrindavan from God Indra's fury of torrential rains.
On this day, devotees circumambulate Goverdhan Parbat, a 21 km trek with several shrines on the route.
Devotees cook and offer 56 dishes, called Chhappan bhog, [2] to Lord Krishna as a mark of gratitude.
In Maharashtra and southern states of India, it is celebrated as Bali Pratipada or Bali Padva, in honour of the notional (and annual) return of the daitya (asura) King Bali to earth, a story similar to Mahabali in Kerala.
The earliest mention of Bali's story being acted in dramas and poetry of ancient India is found in 2nd-century BC Mahābhāṣya of Patanjali on Panini's Astadhyayi. The festival has links to the Vedic era sura-asura conflict and the Samudra manthan (churning), when Mahabali was the King of asuras. The festivities also find mention in Mahabharata, Ramayana, and several major Puranas, such as the Brahma purana, Kurma purana, Matsya purana and others.
There are several messages and storytelling in the festivals,
First alongside Rama, devotees worship Krishna, avatars (incarnations) of Lord Vishnu - Naraka Chaturdashi, Goverdhan Puja.
Second need to maintain harmony with nature, whose fury can destroy, and the related importance of shelters in times of nature's fury.
Third it is harvest time, since 56 dishes require plenty of food.
[1] Author has in posts on his website (https://rohitkparmar.wixsite.com/site), twitter (https://twitter.com/rohitkparmar?s=09), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rohit.parmar.5268750/), LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohit-kumar-parmar-841b4724) been writing on diverse topics including festivals and can be reached at rohitkparmar@yahoo.com. [2] Taking after 56 or chappan bhog (dishes), there are several sweet shops and/or restaurants named as chappan bhog.
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