🐄 Govardhan Puja (Annakut) Puja Vidhi — step by step
This is the household vidhi — the dung Govardhan in the morning, cow worship in the day, the Annakut bhog and parikrama in the evening.
How to do Govardhan Puja (Annakut) — the steps
- Bathe in the morning and make the shape of Govardhan hill from cow dung in the courtyard/at the door — like a reclining figure or a mound; decorate it with flowers, kheel-batasha, lamps, green grass, pieces of sugarcane and small flags; place an idol/picture of Shri Krishna or a clay cowherd boy in the middle.
- Bathe the cows and bullocks (or the cows of a gaushala), oil and colour their horns, garland their necks, apply a turmeric-roli tilak on the forehead; feed them jaggery, chana and green fodder — the cows are at the heart of the Govardhan leela.
- In the puja muhurat (morning in the Pratipada, or Abhijit — time above) worship the Govardhan figure: roli, akshat, flowers, incense and lamp, naivedya; recite 'Govardhana dharadhara Gokula trana-karaka, Vishnu-bahu-kritochchhraya gavam koti-prado bhava' or 'Shri Govardhan Maharaj ki jai'.
- Annakut: during the day cook the new season's vegetables (the mixed 'Annakut sabzi'), kadhi-rice, poori, millet/maize roti, kheer, halwa, laddoo, malpua, fruit, dry fruits — as many dishes as possible (56 by tradition); arrange them like a mountain on thalis/leaf plates before Thakur ji.
- In the evening (in Godhuli bela) offer the Annakut bhog to Thakur ji and the Govardhan, do the aarti — 'Aarti Kunjbihari ki'; light the lamps.
- With the family do seven parikramas of the Govardhan — a lota of water in hand, pouring a thin stream as you go (the Braj way), saying 'Govardhan Maharaj ki jai'; children and elders all.
- Distribute the offered Annakut prasad to the family, neighbours, the gaushala and the needy — do not turn anyone away from prasad on this day.
- When the dung Govardhan dries the next day, make dung cakes of it or put it in a field/plant — never in the garbage.
Puja samagri checklist
Gather the dung, sugarcane and fresh vegetables a day earlier — markets are closed the day after Diwali.
- Cow dung (for the Govardhan figure), green grass/durva
- Idol/picture of Shri Krishna, clay toys of cowherd boys and cows (if available)
- Pieces of sugarcane, small flags, flowers, marigold garland
- Roli, akshat, turmeric, kumkum, mauli, sandalwood
- Diyas, ghee/oil, incense, agarbatti, camphor
- Kheel-batasha, sweets, fruit, dry fruits, makhan-mishri (dear to Krishna)
- Annakut vegetables (10-15 mixed kinds), grains, ingredients for kadhi-rice, poori, kheer, laddoo
- Leaf plates/thalis to arrange the bhog, Tulsi leaves
- Jaggery, chana, green fodder, garland and horn colour for the cows and bullocks
- Lota of water for the parikrama, aarti thali
The Annakut kitchen — 56 dishes and the Govardhan sabzi
In the Annakut, whatever the home can cook goes to Thakur ji. The special dish is the 'Annakut sabzi' — 10-15 seasonal vegetables (potato, cauliflower, peas, brinjal, radish, carrot, pumpkin, bottle gourd, tinda, beans, sweet potato, colocasia, raw banana, spinach-fenugreek) cooked together without onion-garlic, in ghee with asafoetida, cumin, turmeric, coriander and garam masala.
- The mixed Annakut sabzi + kadhi + rice + poori/millet roti — these four are considered essential
- Sweets: kheer, malpua, boondi laddoo, mohanbhog/halwa, gujiya, makhan-mishri, peda
- Savouries: dahi-bada, kachori, pakodi, chutney, pickle, papad, raita
- Fruit and dry fruits: apple, banana, pomegranate, water chestnut, almonds-cashews-raisins; paan-supari-cloves-cardamom
- The first bhog to Thakur ji in Godhuli bela with Tulsi leaves; then to the cows, then to family and neighbours — the more the Annakut prasad is shared, the more auspicious
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Make the Govardhan figure from fresh cow dung, with natural decoration (flowers, grass, sugarcane)
- Give the cows and bullocks special honour on this day — bathe, decorate, feed jaggery and fodder; donate to a gaushala
- Distribute the Annakut prasad with an open hand — neighbours, the needy, the gaushala
- Do the parikrama with a stream of water, seven times, with the whole family
- If the Amavasya runs into the afternoon, confirm the Govardhan date with your local panchang
❌ Don't
- Do not step on or over the Govardhan figure; never throw it in the garbage
- No onion-garlic in the Annakut; do not eat before the bhog is offered
- Making cows and bullocks work, beating or scolding them on this day — forbidden
- Refusing or throwing away prasad — an insult to food
- Skipping the cow worship in post-Diwali tiredness — that is the very root of this day
Vrat katha
Every year Braj worshipped Indra so that the rains would come. The boy Krishna said to Nanda Baba and the people of Braj — 'It is not Indra but the law of nature that gives rain; we should worship the Govardhan hill that… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Govardhan Puja in {Y}?
The date at the top is this year's Kartik Shukla Pratipada — from panchang calculations on the udaya-tithi at Delhi; if the Amavasya runs into the afternoon, some panchangs place Govardhan Puja on the next day — verify with your local panchang.
What is the auspicious time for Govardhan Puja?
Govardhan puja in the morning of the Pratipada tithi (after sunrise) or in Abhijit Muhurat; the Annakut bhog in the evening in Godhuli bela — both times (Delhi) are given above.
Why 56 dishes in the Annakut?
According to the katha, in the seven days that Krishna held up Govardhan he missed eight watches × seven days = 56 meals, hence 56 dishes. Make as many as your home can — the feeling matters, not the count.
How to make the Govardhan if cow dung is not available?
A symbol can be made of clay, dough or dung cakes; or worship a Govardhan picture/Govardhan shila (brought from Mathura). In cities a gaushala will give a little dung.
Why are Govardhan Puja and Bali Pratipada on the same day?
Both fall on Kartik Shukla Pratipada — Govardhan-Annakut in north-west India and King Bali's coming to earth in Maharashtra and the South; in Gujarat the same day is the new year.
🏠 Govardhan Puja (Annakut) 2026 — date, muhurat, full page · All vrat & festivals