Govardhan Puja, also called Annakut means the pile of grain which is celebrated to remember the victory of Lord Krishna over the arrogant Indra. Lord Krishna taught people to worship the Supreme Controller of nature, God, specifically Govardhan, as Govardhan is a manifestation of Krishna, and to stop worshiping the God of Rains, Lord Indra. For Annakut a mountain of food is decorated symbolizing Govardhan Mountain said to be lifted by Lord Krishna to save the people from the wrath of Lord Indra, the demigod in charge of rain. It is considered that at this day Lord Krishna had defeated the Lord of heaven Indra. Lord Krishna told the people of Vrindavan dham to worship the Nature because only the Nature is nurturing you.
He taught people that worship the Govardhan Mountain which brings rain to the earth and stop worshiping Indra. His message was generally to teach people to take care of the nature. A great mountain of the food, the Govardhan Mountain, is adorned by the people at this occasion. It is considered that the Govardhan Mountain was lifted by the Lord Krishna in order to save the life of people from the Indra. Lord Indra was throwing thunder and a lot of rain over the earth and lord Krishna had saved the millions of life by lifting the mountain on his little finger. This pooja is performed with great zeal and enthusiasm and in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
In Haryana, there is a tradition of building cow dung hillocks, which symbolize the Mount Govardhan, the mountain which was once lifted by Lord Krishna. After making such hillocks people decorate them with flowers and then worship them. They move in a circle all round the cow dung hillocks and offer prayers to Lord Govardhan.In Haryana Govardhan Puja forms an important part of the celebrations of Diwali. In Maharashtra it is celebrated as Padva or BaliPratipada. The day commemorates King Bali. Men present gifts to their wives on this day. In Haryana, Gujarat, it is celebrated as New Year, as Vikram Samvat starts on this day. Govardhan puja is when Lord Krishna stopped the people of Vrindavan dham worshipping Lord Indra because Indra had become too proud of himself so Lord Krishna completely stopped it and told the inhabitants of Vrindavana to worship Govardhan Hill. This worship has carried on from 5000 years ago to the 21st Century.
Source - Wikipedia
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