E-Paper
Govardhan Puja: Braj region’s devotional commemoration after Diwali
Residents of the Braj area in India celebrated Govardhan Puja, offering prayers to Lord Krishna who protected them from heavy rains by lifting the Govardhan hillock. The tradition of worshiping the hillock continues every year with devotees undertaking a 21-kilometer parikrama around it.
A day after Diwali, Braj area has come alive with celebrations of Govardhan Puja as the residents of the region offer prayers to Lord Krishna, commemorating the day when they were saved from the wrath of Lord Indra – the god of rains.
It is believed that on this day, Krishna lifted the hillock of Govardhan and used it as an umbrella to shield the Brajwasis from uninterrupted rains. Since then, the day following Diwali has been celebrated as Govardhan Puja.
This year, the day fell a day after Diwali, and on Tuesday, devotees gathered at the site of the Govardhan hillock to offer prayers. In other cities of the Braj region, including Agra, Mathura, Hathras and Etah, temples held special ceremonies.
Prayers were offered to Govardhan Girraj in open areas of the temple using various materials, including cow dung. ‘Bhandara’ events were organised at these temples and devotees carried idols of Govardhan on their heads and sang ‘bhajans.’
Lakhs of devotees gathered and danced to the tune of the ‘mridangam’ played throughout the track of the parikrama for the Govardhan hillock. ‘Hari Bol’ was chanted by devotees moving through ‘daan ghati,’ Jatpura, ‘mukharbind’ on the Govardhan parikrama marg (track) in a procession, while specially prepared ‘prasad’ of ‘annakoot’ (mixed vegetable) was distributed.”
Mohan Swaroop Bhatia, a veteran of Braj literature, highlights the traditional belief that Lord Krishna was only seven years old when he challenged the practice in Braj of worshiping Indra. Lord Krishna asked the Brajwasis to worship Govardhan, who provided them with crops and other necessities. However, this was not taken lightly by Indra, who planned to teach the residents of Braj a lesson.
Indra unleashed heavy rains on the Braj region for days, and the Braj residents turned to Lord Krishna, then aged seven, for help. Krishna came to the rescue of the Brajwasis, lifting the hillock Govardhan on his index finger. This made Indra realize that Krishna was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and he surrendered before Him,’ says Bhatia.
Since then, the tradition of worshiping the hillock Govardhan continues, and it culminates in the Govardhan Puja celebration on a large scale the day after Diwali every year. Devotees come to the Govardhan hillock near Mathura city and undertake ‘parikrama,’ covering a distance of 7 kos or 21 kilometers around the hillock.
