Annakut/Govardhana Puja

'Annakut' (literally a mountain of food) is offered to God on this day. A vast array of vegetarian foods is traditionally arranged in tiers or steps, in front of the Lord. The sweets are placed nearest to the Lord. As the tiers descend, other foods such as 'dal', vegetables, pulses and fried savory foods are arranged. A mound of cooked rice, symbolic of Mt. Govardhan, is placed in the center.

The term "Govardhana' has two meanings. The word "Go' means cows, and "vardhana' means nourishment. In the other meaning "Go' stands for senses and "vardhana' means to increase the diversion of the senses towards Sri Krishna. Both these jobs are done by Sri Giriraja. He kindly blesses the devotee by increasing his devotion. Thus by residing in the foothills of Sri Giriraja, all the senses and their respective duties of a soul attain divinity and are inclined to serve the Lotus Feet of Krishna.

About Govardhan Puja In brief: The day after Deepawali is celebrated as Govadhan Puja when Mount Govardhan, near Mathura, is worshipped. Pious people keep awake the whole night and cook fifty-six (or 108) different types of food for the bhog (the offering of food) to Krishna. This ceremony is called ankut which means a mountain of food. Various types of food – cereals, pulses, fruit, vegetables, chutneys, pickles, and salads – are offered to the Deity and then distributed as prasada to devotees.

This festival is in commemoration of the lifting of Mount Govardhan by Krishna. According to a legend, before Krishna was born, Indra, the god of Rain, was the chief deity of Vraj. Then Krishna instigated the people to stop worshipping Indra. Indra wanted to show his power over Krishna and brought about a cloud-burst which flooded the countryside for many days. People were afraid that the downpor was a result of their neglect of Indra. But Krishna assured them that no harm would befall them. He lifted Mount Govardhan for 7 days with his little finger and sheltered men and beasts from the rain. This gave him the epithet Govardhandhari. After this, Indra accepted the supremacy of Krishna.