Shree Govardhan Puja – 19th October
(Worship of the Govardhan Hill)
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 Lord Krishna. Both these jobs are done by Shree Giriraja. He kindly blesses the devotee by increasing his devotion. Thus by residing in the foothills of Shree Giriraja, all the senses and their respective duties of a soul attain divinity and are inclined to serve the Lotus Feet of Lord Krishna. Govardhan Hill those who are not aware of was a mountain now a hill that is situated in Vrndavana, India.
In the western coast of India, in the island of Salmali, lived Dronachala, the king of the mountains. Once the great sage Pulastya Muni came to him to take his son Giriraja with him to Kashi (Varanasi). After offering some initial resistance, Giriraja, somehow agreed to go with him only on condition that he should not put him down on the earth in between. If he does so, he would stay there forever. When they were flying over the Vraja bhumi, Giriraja increased his weight to the extent that Pulastya Muni had no option but to put him down. Pulastya Muni understood the mischief of Giriraja. He became furious and cursed him that he would decrease by a grain everyday. But then repenting on the curse he gave to Giriraja, he assured him that he would be blessed in the Dvapara Yuga and everybody would start worshipping him since then.
This happened in the Satya Yuga. In Treta Yuga, Shree Hanumanji on the instructions of Lord Rama came to take Giriraja for the cause of constructing a pull on the ocean. Giriraja at once agreed to go for the service of Lord Rama. But before they reached, the pull was ready and there was no need of additional stones. Giriraja was very disappointed on not having the darshana of Lord Rama. On knowing the sorrow of Giriraja, Lord Rama sent a message saying that, "...by the end of the Dvapara Yuga, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Shree Krishna will Himself appear and play on you and will also worship you. In kaliyuga, the devotees shall attain numerous divine supernatural powers by worshipping you.''
In Sarasvata Kalpa, i.e. the end of the Dvapara Yuga, Bhagavan Shree Krishna stopped the worship of Lord Indra and started the Govardhana Puja by performing it Himself. It was a wonderful sight. Being worshipped by Shree Krishna, Giriraja himself became like Shree Krishna. It was like He (Shree Krishna) worshipping Himself. Since then all the six seasons resided permanently on Giriraja.
About Govardhan Puja In brief: The day after Deepavali (17/18th October 2009) is celebrated as Govardhan Puja when Mount Govardhan, is worshipped. Many devotees cook many different types of food for offering to Lord Krishna. This ceremony is called Annakut 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 prasadam to devotees of the Lord.
This festival is in commemoration of the lifting of Mount Govardhan by Lord Krishna. Before Lord Krishna appeared in this planet, Lord Indra, the deva of Rain, was the chief deity of Vraja. Then Lord Krishna advised the citizens of Vrndavana to stop worshipping Lord Indra. Lord Indra wanted to show his power over Shree Krishna and brought about a cloud-burst which flooded the countryside for many days. People were afraid that the downpour was a result of their neglect of Lord Indra. But Shree Krishna assured them that no harm would befall them. He lifted Mount Govardhan with His little pinky finger and sheltered all creatures from the rain. This gave Lord Krsna the name Govardhan dhari. After this, Lord Indra accepted the supremacy of Shree Krishna.
A very good lesson can be learnt from this katha. Many Hindu’s perform a certain prayer where an animal is slaughtered. And when they don’t perform this puja and when something bad happens to their family members or themselves the first blame goes “Oh I didn’t perform my ____ Puja”. Shree Krsna is showing us here how He is the ultimate Person to worship. There is an adage “If Lord Krsna protects you then who can harm you but if Lord Krsna wants to harm you then who in their right mind will protect you”. So don’t be psychosomatic be positive and have full faith in the Lord. Why fear when Lord Krsna is with you.
To read the full story from the Srimad Bhagavatam please copy and paste this link to view and read the entire story…
http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto10/chapter24.html Chapter 24: Krishna Defies Indra in Favor of the Brahmins, the Cows and Govardhana Hill
http://www.srimadbhagavatam.org/canto10/chapter25.html Chapter 25: Lord Krishna Lifts Govardhana Hill
Plz do visit my good friend (Pt Jaya Thirtha Charan Das from New Zealand) website www.salagram.net or http://www.salagram.net/parishad77-g.htm. Most of the info here was compiled by Him…
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