North IndiaPoojaKrishnaHindi · Uttar Pradesh · Rajasthan · Haryana
Govardhan Puja honours the day Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan hill to shelter the people of Braj, and Annakut — the 'mountain of food' — answers it with a vast offering of dishes piled before the deity. It falls on Kartika Shukla Pratipada (October–November), the day after Diwali.
When: Kartika Shukla Pratipada — first day of the bright fortnight of Kartika (October–November), the day after Diwali
Where: Braj (Mathura–Vrindavan and Govardhan town) in Uttar Pradesh; Nathdwara in Rajasthan; Krishna temples across north India and worldwide
Deity: Lord Krishna as Giriraj — the lifter of Govardhan hill
Observance: Govardhan images of cow-dung or clay worshipped in courtyards; Annakut — a great array of vegetarian dishes offered to Krishna; cow worship
Regional name: Govardhan Puja · Annakut / Annakoot · Padwa (in parts of the north)
The hill held up on a little finger
The Bhagavata Purana tells that the cowherds of Braj prepared their yearly sacrifice to Indra, lord of rain, when the young Krishna asked a piercing question: why worship distant Indra, when it is Govardhan hill that feeds their cows and the cows that feed them all? Persuaded, the Brajwasis offered their feast to the hill instead. Indra, enraged, unleashed seven days of annihilating rain — and Krishna lifted Govardhan on the little finger of his left hand, holding it as an umbrella over every person and animal of Braj until Indra's pride broke and the skies cleared. The episode gave Krishna the name Giriraj-dharan, holder of the king of mountains. Govardhan Puja re-enacts that first offering: worship turned away from power in the sky toward the earth, the hill, the cows — the near-at-hand gifts by which life is actually sustained.
How Govardhan Puja and Annakut are performed
On the morning after Diwali, families across the Hindi belt shape a small image of Govardhan — traditionally of cow dung, otherwise clay — in the courtyard, adorn it with flowers and miniature trees of grass, and walk around it offering water, roli and rice. Cows and bullocks are bathed, decorated and honoured, for the day is equally a thanksgiving to cattle. Then comes Annakut, the 'mountain of food': households and temples cook an abundance of vegetarian dishes — in great Krishna temples traditionally chhappan bhog, fifty-six offerings, and often far more — and pile them in tiers before the deity, a culinary Govardhan answering the hill of stone. At Nathdwara in Rajasthan the Annakut of Shrinathji is celebrated on a famous scale, and in Braj itself lakhs of pilgrims perform the 21-kilometre parikrama of Govardhan hill barefoot. Temples then distribute the entire offering as prasad, feeding everyone who comes.
Keeping Govardhan Puja in Ottawa & Canada
The parikrama of Govardhan hill belongs to Braj, and diaspora devotees who wish to walk it plan visits around Kartika or watch the Annakut darshans of Nathdwara and Vrindavan on live stream — Indian morning darshan falls late in the Ottawa evening the night before, and evening darshan in the Ottawa morning. But Annakut itself travels wonderfully: Krishna temples across Canada, including ISKCON centres, mount Annakut offerings of dozens or hundreds of dishes the day after Diwali, and families are usually invited to contribute a dish — check local temple announcements for the year. At home, the observance can be as simple as shaping a small Govardhan of atta or clay, cooking a few extra dishes with care, offering everything to Krishna with a lamp, and sharing the prasad generously. The day's teaching — gratitude for the immediate sources of our food — lands just as well at an Ottawa dinner table.
Each link opens our computed festival calendar with exact dates and timings for your city.
Questions
Why is so much food offered on Annakut?
Annakut means 'mountain of food'. It recalls the first offering the people of Braj made to Govardhan hill at Krishna's urging, and expresses the day's theme of gratitude for nourishment. Temples traditionally prepare vast arrays — the chhappan bhog of fifty-six dishes and beyond — and every item is afterwards distributed as prasad, so the abundance feeds the whole community.
Is Govardhan Puja always the day after Diwali?
It falls on Kartika Shukla Pratipada, which normally follows Diwali's amavasya directly. Occasionally the panchang produces a gap of a day between them, so in a given year it is worth checking the computed calendar rather than assuming — use the date link on this page.
What is the Govardhan parikrama?
It is the barefoot circumambulation of Govardhan hill in Braj, a route of roughly 21 kilometres through Govardhan town, Radha Kund and Mansi Ganga. Devotees perform it year-round, but Kartika — and Govardhan Puja day especially — draws the greatest numbers. Some perform dandavat parikrama, measuring the route with full-body prostrations.
Source: Braj tradition of Mathura–Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, carried across north India and the Vaishnava world. Regional versions may vary — this text follows the version most widely used in community worship.