Day 5 Diwali – Govardhan Puja/ Annakut
The fifth day of Diwali is celebrated as Govardhan Puja & Badi Diwali. This falls on 10th October 2017. Lord Krishna on this day had lifted entire Govardhan hill on his little finger to save the villagers from heavy rains. People offer a mountain of food on this day to Lord Krishna depicting Govardhan mountain on the remembrance of the day for saving them. This also marks the first day of Vikram Samvat (Hindu) Calendar. The western states like Gujarat celebrate this day as “BestuBaras” which marks the New Year as per their calendar. People belonging to North India consider this day to worship Lord Krishna which is known as“Govardhan Puja”. Some celebrate this day as ‘Padwa’ or ‘Balipratipada’ which observes the defeat of King Bali by Lord Vishnu. LEGENDS BEHIND GOVARDHAN PUJA People of Gokul had worshiped the Govardhan mountain instead of Lord Indra for bringing rain to their crops. This made Lord Indra furious and he began heavy rains, causing a flood. To pro...