Diwali & Govardhana Puja

Diwali

The Hindu New Year – is a five-day festival. Anecdotes from the Puranas abound for each of the days. Diwali can be observed by illuminating hundreds of candles in different parts of the temple and offering various preparations of food to the Deity. This ceremony was observed by the inhabitants of Ayodhya while Lord Rama was in exile, away from His kingdom. The joyful day on which Lord Rama returned is observed as Diwali, or Dipavali (“dipa” means candles, and “vali” means numerous.) During a different era, this was also the day on which Lord Krishna performed His childhood pastime of breaking the pots of yogurt and letting Himself be bound by Mother Yashoda.

* Read: The five days of Diwali

* Listen: Harinama Chintamani Dasi narrates Binding Sri Krishna, from Ananda Vrindavan Champu by Srila Kavi Karnapura. Listen to Part 1 | Part 2

* Listen: Srila Prabhupada’s original dictation of the passage of the KRSNA Book where Mother Yashoda binds Krishna.

* Shop: More than 3000 Diwali gifts at the Krishna.com store

Govardhana Puja

The day after Diwali is referred to as Annakuta, or Govardhana Puja. On this day the inhabitants of Vrindavan (Lord Krishna’s abode on Earth) would hold a harvest festival in honor of King Indra, the demigod who provided the rains essential for the harvest.

One day, however, Lord Krishna wanted to teach Indra a lesson. He convinced the inhabitants of Vrindavan to honor Govardhana Hill instead, whose fertile soil provided the grass upon which the cows and bulls grazed, and to honor the cows and bulls who provided milk and ploughed the lands. Outraged, Indra retaliated with terrifying thunderstorms. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, calmly lifted Govardhana Hill with the little finger of his left hand. For seven days and seven nights the Lord held up Govardhana Hill, providing a giant umbrella to shelter the inhabitants of Vrindavan from the torrential rain. Realizing the futility of his actions, King Indra bowed down before the Lord with folded hands and offered prayers of supplication. In this way, Lord Krishna demonstrated that He is Deva Deva, the lord of the demigods, and that any purpose for which demigods might be worshiped could easily be served by worshiping Him, the cause of all causes.

Several thousand years later, on this same day, Srila Madhavendra Puri established a temple for the self-manifest Gopala Deity on top of Govardhana Hill.

To celebrate this festival, devotees build a replica of Govardhana Hill made of various opulent foods, worship Lord Krishna as the lifter of Govardhana Hill, worship the hill as His incarnation, and worship the cows and bulls who are dear to the Lord.

At the end of the festival, the hill of prasada (sanctified food) is distributed to the public. All Vaishnava temples in India observe this ceremony, and hundreds of people are given prasada according to the capacity of each temple.
Listen

* Harinama Chintamani Dasi narrates The Lifting of Govardhana Hill, from Ananda Vrindavan Champu by Srila Kavi Karnapura. Listen to part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

* Amal Bhakta Das narrates Worshiping Govardhana Hill, and Lord Krishna Lifts Govardhana Hill from Srimad-Bhagavatam, translated by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Buy Srimad-Bhagavatam audio books | books

View
A short video excerpt from Vrindavan, Land of Krishna, which includes footage of Govardhana Hill. Buy the DVD.
Read
* The Farmer and Krishna. Hare Krishna Dasi discusses Krishna conscious farming and cites Govardhana Puja as an ideal example.
* Service to the Cow. Krishna Himself explains how care of this sacred animal forms the basis of Govardhana Puja.
* The Authenticity of Spiritual Places. How do we know if a holy place is truly authentic? Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami explains.


Experience
* Prepare food for Govardhana Puja
* Learn Sanskrit at Govardhana Hill