Govardhan Puja is celebrated after the festivities of Diwali, and this year, it will fall on the 2nd of Noember. It is a festival that pays homage to all the blessings of Lord Krishna upon his devotees. This auspicious day holds a prominent place in the hearts of the Hindu community as it was on this occasion that Lord Krishna crushed the arrogance of Indra to save his devotees from nature’s wrath.
Pratipada Tithi Begins - 06:16 PM on Nov 01, 2024 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 08:21 PM on Nov 02, 2024 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 05:54 PM on Oct 21, 2025 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 08:16 PM on Oct 22, 2025 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 12:31 PM on Nov 09, 2026 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 02:00 PM on Nov 10, 2026 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 07:05 PM on Oct 29, 2027 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 05:51 PM on Oct 30, 2027 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 08:26 AM on Oct 18, 2028 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 05:00 AM on Oct 19, 2028 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 09:53 AM on Nov 06, 2029 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 06:07 AM on Nov 07, 2029 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 01:46 AM on Oct 27, 2030 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 10:36 PM on Oct 27, 2030 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 02:38 AM on Nov 15, 2031 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 12:28 AM on Nov 16, 2031 Pratipada Tithi Begins - 11:14 AM on Nov 03, 2032 Pratipada Tithi Ends - 11:44 AM on Nov 04, 2032
Govardhan Puja Sayankala Muhurat - 03:23 PM to 05:35 PM Duration - 02 Hours 12 Mins
Govardhan Puja Sayankala Muhurat - 03:29 PM to 05:44 PM Duration - 02 Hours 16 Mins
Govardhan Puja Sayankala Muhurat - 03:24 PM to 05:38 PM Duration - 02 Hours 13 Mins
Govardhan Puja Sayankala Muhurat - 03:31 PM to 05:48 PM Duration - 02 Hours 17 Mins
Govardhan Puja Sayankala Muhurat - 03:26 PM to 05:40 PM Duration - 02 Hours 14 Mins
Govardhan Puja Sayankala Muhurat - 03:19 PM to 05:28 PM Duration - 02 Hours 09 Mins
This festival is one of the most propitious festivals of the Hindus, and it celebrates the Baal roop or the child form of Lord Krishna. This festival is popularly also known as Annakoot, which essentially translates to “a mountain of food.” During this festival, the devotees show their reverence to the Govardhan Parvat or the Govardhan hill as they offer fifty-six different varieties of vegetarian food and express their gratitude to Lord Krishna for his blessings.
The festival holds a lot of religious significance and is important for many reasons. Let us look at the pooja vidhi for this auspicious day to appease the Lord with hearts full of devotion:
Wake up early in the morning on this day and take a bath to get ready for the different rituals.
Clean the place of worship and light diyas as well as incense sticks in the temple at home.
In an open space within the house, preferably in the southeast direction, draw the idol of Govardhan using cow dung.
Offer haldi, kumkum, and akshat to the idol of Govardhan.
Offer flowers to the drawing of the idol of Govardhan and join both hands in prayer in front of it.
Prepare delectable dishes using the satvik recipe to appease the God. This is known as the act of preparing Chappan bhog or fifty-six dishes.
Offer the bhog as prasad to the idol of Govardhan.
Sing devotional songs remembering Lord Krishna on this auspicious day.
Chant the below-mentioned mantra of govardhan puja festival to appease the God-
“|| श्रीगिर्रिराजधरणप्रभुतेरीशरण ||”
Perform the parikrama of the drawing.
Perform the aarti, concluding the pooja by distributing the prasad to the devotees.
This festival is celebrated with so much zeal and enthusiasm as it upholds the beauty of the bond between a God and his devotees. It is a day to pay homage to the bond of devotion and faith in the fact that God will protect his devotees through the ups and downs of life. The story behind this auspicious day teaches all of us to respect the power of mother nature. We must always be grateful for all the support this Earth provides us, thanking her for all the blessings showered upon the mortal world due to her unbridled kindness.
On this day, Lord Krishna lifted the Govardhan hill to protect his devotees from the wrath of nature and its forces. He lifted the hill to shelter the inhabitants of his village in Gokul. This story teaches us that devotion or Bhakti is the way to connect with the divine forces of this world. It brings home the point that God protects his bhakts against all the odds.
Many rituals are performed on this day to seek the blessings of Lord Krishna on this auspicious day. Let us look at some of the most prominent ones that are mentioned below-
The festival is also called Annakoot and it simply means a mountain of food. As a result, devotees make fifty-six dishes on this auspicious day. The dishes of the Chappan bhog are then offered to Lord Krishna as prasad.
In Mathura and Nathdwara, idols of Lord Krishna are given milk baths. The Lord is then dressed in new clothes and adorned with beautiful jewelry on this auspicious day. Furthermore, precious stones like diamonds, rubies, sapphire, etc., are offered to the Lord by the devotees to appease him.
Food and sweets made on this day are ceremoniously put on thalis, and mountains of food are made out of them. These are then offered as Bhog to Lord Krishna to seek his blessings. Devotees are also given the food as prasad after the offerings are made to the Lord.
In the Southern parts of the country as well as certain regions of Maharashtra, this day is celebrated as Bali Padva or Bali Pratiba. It was on this day that Lord Vishnu appeared on Earth in his Vaman avatar and pushed the demon king Bali to hell or Patal Lok.
The festivities of Diwali last for a period of five days. The festival celebrating Govardhan hill is the fourth among the five celebrations during this period. This auspicious day is relevant because devotees pay their respects to the Govardhan hill. The people worship nature and its many blessings that shower them with abundance. Essentially celebrated in Brij, this festival is now popular far and wide.
The celebrations of this day occur on the first day in the lunar calendar during the bright phase of the Moon known as Krishna Paksha. The Govardhan Puja dates and time occur in the Karthik month, after the festival of Diwali.
As per the mythologies associated with the religion of Hinduism, the dwellers of Gokul celebrated a festival in honor of Lord Indra at the end of each monsoon season. They celebrated the day with a lot of vigor and worshipped Lord Indra for the rains that irrigated their land. However, one year, Lord Krishna convinced all the villagers to stop praying to Lord Indra. He wanted the villagers not to waste huge quantities of food made to appease Indra. Instead, he wanted them to feed their families to their hearts’ fill. According to him, they should instead worship the Govardhan hill as it was the parvat that offered them the resources, not Indra. This angered Indra to such a grave extent that he sent heavy rains to the village to submerge it. The inhabitants of Gokul were scared of the heavy downpour caused due to their neglect of Lord Indra. Krishna, however, assured them that they would be safe. He lifted the Govardhan parvat with merely his little finger, asking the villagers to seek refuge under it. He thus successfully managed to protect not only the humans but also their cattle from the heavy rains of six days. He, therefore, received the title of Govardhandhari and forced Indra to acknowledge his supremacy. Indra soon realized his mistake and sought an apology from Lord Krishna for letting his arrogance get the best of him.
This day marks the celebration of the devotees' faith in their beloved Krishna, who holds the hands of his worshippers through the thick and thins of life! He bestows them with strength, happiness, and blessings at every juncture of their life, making the bond of faith, the purest bond in one’s life.
To know about the Govardhan Puja dates and time in more detail, connect with Astroyogi astrologers right away!
Date | Monday, 14 October 2024 |
Tithi | Shukla-Ekadashi |
Day | Monday |
Paksha | Shukla-Paksha |
Sunrise | 6:21:54 |
Sunset | 17:52:42 |
Moonrise | 15:57:20 |
Nakshatra | Dhanishtha |
Nakshtra Till | 2 : 52 : 39 |
Yog | Dand |
Yog Till | 18 : 1 : 11 |
Karan I | Vishti |
Surya Rashi | Virgo |
Chandra Rashi | Aquarius |
Rahu Kal | 07:48:15 to 09:14:36 |