Govardhana Pūjā remembers the day Kṛṣṇa lifted Govardhana hill on his little finger to shelter the cowherds of Vraja from Indra's flood. In the Bhāgavata Purāṇa he urged them to honour the hill, the cows and the land that fed them instead of Indra, and when Indra sent seven days of rain the whole village and its cattle sheltered beneath the hill until Indra yielded. The day is kept in gratitude for that protection and for the earth and cattle that sustain life. Its central offering, the Annakūṭa, heaps food like a mountain before Kṛṣṇa. How the day is fixed: Govardhana Pūjā is kept on the day when Kārtika Śukla Pratipadā prevails at local sunrise. This is usually the day right after Dīpāvali's Amāvāsyā. Keep in mind: Because the tithi is read at local sunrise, the day can shift by one from place to place. The same morning is Bali Pratipadā in Mahārāṣṭra, Karnataka and Andhra, and the new year in Gujarat. This year: The 2027 date shown here is worked out from sunrise at the place you chose, so in another city the same day can fall a day earlier or later. Annakūṭa: A mountain of vegetarian dishes, from dozens to hundreds, is offered to Kṛṣṇa in a single sitting, most lavishly at Nāthdwāra and Vṛndāvan. Home shrines keep a smaller version with whatever the kitchen has cooked that day. Cattle and the Govardhana mound: In many homes a small hill of cow dung or food is shaped and worshipped as Govardhana itself. Cows and bullocks are bathed, decorated and fed, since the story honours the cattle the hill protected. Worth remembering: Govardhana Pūjā shares its tithi with Bali Pratipadā, kept in Mahārāṣṭra, Karnataka and Andhra for King Bali's yearly return from Pātāla, but the two are separate observances. It is also distinct from Dīpāvali the night before and from Bhāī Dūj the day after. How the day is kept depends on region and family. Gujarati households greet the new year and go for Annakūṭa darśan, Marathi homes celebrate Pāḍavā, Kannada villages worship their cattle and coastal homes invite Balīndra, and in the south Kṛṣṇa temples and ISKCON centres hold the Annakūṭa. Each household does best to follow the elders of its own house.
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