Essay on Govardhan Puja History and Significance
Govardhan Puja is celebrated the day after Diwali. It is also known as Annakut. Govardhan Puja festival is very important in Indian folk life. This festival shows a direct relationship between man and nature. This festival has its own beliefs and folk tales.
In Govardhan Puja, cows are worshipped. It is said in the scriptures that cows are as pure as Ganges in rivers. The cow is also called the form of Goddess Lakshmi. Just as Goddess Lakshmi gives happiness and prosperity, in the same way, the cow mother also provides health-like wealth from her milk. Its calf grows grain in the fields. Such a cow is worshipable and respectable for the whole human race. To express reverence for the cow, Govardhan is worshipped on the day of Kartik Shukla Paksha Pratipada, and as a symbol of it, the cow
Krishna lifted the Govardhan mountain on his smallest finger for seven days to protect the Brajvasis from torrential rains, and the cowherds and gopis lived happily in its shade. On the seventh day, the Lord laid down the Govardhan and ordered everyone to celebrate the Annakut festival every year by worshipping the Govardhan. Since then, this festival has been celebrated as Annakut.
How to Celebrate Govardhan Puja at Home
Since this mythological event, Govardhan Puja has been performed. The Brajvasis worship the Govardhan mountain on this day. On this day, cows and bulls are bathed and coloured, and new ropes are tied around their necks. Cows and bulls are fed jaggery and rice.
On this day, there is a tradition of bathing with oil on the body in the morning. On this day, you should wake up early in the morning, sit at the place of worship with the worship material, and meditate on your Kul Dev, Kul Devi. Make the Govardhan mountain from cow dung with full devotion to worship. It is made in the shape of a lying man. Symbolically, you can make it in the form of Govardhan and decorate it with flowers, leaves, twigs, and cow shapes.
After making the shape of Govardhan, a statue of Lord Shri Krishna is placed in the middle of it. A hole is made as big as a bowl in the place of the navel, and a bowl and a clay lamp are kept there. Then, milk, curd, Ganga water, honey, and batashas are added and worshipped and then distributed as Prasad.
In some places, there is also a tradition of bathing cows along with Govardhan Puja and decorating them with vermilion and other flower garlands. On this day, the cow is also worshipped, so if you can bathe the cow and decorate it or can do its decoration, then try to decorate the cow, apply ghee to its forehead, and feed jaggery. After the worship of the cow, a mantra is pronounced, which makes Lakshmi ji happy, and there is never a lack of wealth in your home.
