Pooja and Khekhra festival at nathdwara
A huge crowd from Nathdwara, Rajsamand and nearby villages gathered for the legendary custom of Govardhan Pooja and Khekhra celebration which took place in Nathdwara’s famous temple of Shrinath ji today. The program started at 3 pm and continued till evening 5.
Govardhan Pooja is celebrated just a day after Diwali to observe the lifting of Govardhan Parvat by Lord Krishna to save the villagers from the anger of Lord Indra who assailed the village with flood and heavy rainfall. Khekra celebration is a very old traditional activity performed to worship cows and hills.
For the exhilarating event today, cows were embellished with peacock feathers on their head, bells in their neck, ghunghroos in their legs and horns painted with colors. Gwalas of all ages prepared themselves for the thrilling occasion.
There was a whole track prepared from bada or cow shed to the Shrinath ji temple premises. On both sides of the track, an enormous crowd was present to witness the pooja. People thronged the rooftops of buildings and shops to get a view of the carnival.
Gwalas carry an instrument which excites the cows and makes them run towards them. To control the cows from running amok into the crowd, Gwalas carry bamboo sticks, ropes etc. They also take calves with them to pacify the infuriated cows.
The celebration does not ends here, another event called Annakoot will also take place tonight starting from 11:30 pm and will continue till 4 am in the morning.
In this remarkable event, loads of delicious dishes are prepared and kept in the temple. These dishes are ‘looted’ by the gwalas and bhils at around midnight. Devoted to the task, people take part in this unusual and amazingly exciting struggle with zeal.
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