Govardhan Puja

Krishna persuaded the cowherds to stop the annual sacrifice to Indra and honour the mountain that actually fed their cattle. Indra, enraged, sent seven days of rain; Krishna lifted Govardhan on his little finger and sheltered the village beneath it.

A mound of cow dung or food shaped as the hill, worshipped and circumambulated. Annakut, a mountain of food, sometimes a hundred and eight or more dishes, arranged before the deity and then distributed. Cattle are decorated and honoured.

Annakut itself, the largest food offering of the Hindu year. Kadhi and rice are traditional in Braj.

Braj and the Vaishnava temples of Gujarat and Rajasthan do the largest Annakuts; Nathdwara's is famous. Maharashtra keeps the same day as Bali Pratipada, honouring King Bali's annual return, a completely different story on the same tithi.