The day following the Amavasya is “Kartik Shuddh Padwa” and only on this day does King Bali come out of Pathal Loka and rule Bhulok as per the boon given by Lord Vishnu. Hence, people also know it as “Bali Padyami”. This day also marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya, and they started Vikaram-Samvat from this Padwa day.
Gudi Padwa symbolizes love and devotion between the wife and husband. On this day, newly-married daughters invite their husbands for special meals and receive presents. In olden days, brothers went to fetch their sisters from their in-laws’ home for this important day.
Govardhan-Puja also takes place in the North on this day. Govardhan is a small hillock in Braj, near Mathura, and on this day of Diwali, the people of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar build cowdung hillocks, decorate them with flowers, and then worship them. This festival commemorates Krishna lifting Mount Govardhan.
According to Vishnu-Puran, the people of Gokul celebrated a festival in honor of Lord Indra and worshiped him after the end of every monsoon season, but one particular year, the young Krishna stopped them from offering prayers to Lord Indra, who in terrific anger sent a deluge to submerge Gokul.
People feared that the downpour resulted from their neglect of Indra. But Krishna assured them that no harm would befall them. He lifted Mount Govardhan with his little finger and sheltered men and beasts from the rain. This act earned him the epithet Govardhandhari. After this, Indra accepted Krishna’s supremacy.
This day is also observed as Annakoot, meaning mountain of food. Pious people keep awake the whole night and cook fifty-six or 108 different types of food for the bhog (the offering of food) to Krishna.
In temples, especially in Mathura and Nathadwara, the priests give the deities a milk bath, dress them in shining attires, and adorn them with dazzling diamonds, pearls, rubies, and other precious stones.
After the prayers and traditional worship, devotees ceremoniously raise innumerable varieties of delicious sweets in the form of a mountain before the deities as “Bhog,” and then the devotees approach the Mountain of Food and take Prasad from it.
Content for this question contributed by Anita Noga, resident of Anita Noga, Burgettstown, northwestern Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA
