Govardhan Puja 2026: Date, Muhurat, Annakut and Puja Vidhi

Govardhan Puja, also called Annakut, is on Tuesday, 10 November 2026 in India. It falls on Kartik Shukla Pratipada, the first day of the bright half of Kartik, two days after Diwali.

Timings for New Delhi (India, IST):

• Pratipada tithi: 12:32 pm on 9 November to 2:00 pm on 10 November
• Morning muhurat (pratahkal): 6:40 am to 8:50 am on 10 November
• Evening muhurat: none this year, because Pratipada ends at 2:00 pm

Why not 9 November? Amavasya, the Diwali tithi, is still running on the morning of the 9th and Pratipada begins only after midday. On 10 November Pratipada holds at sunrise and through the morning, so the worship belongs to that day. The Diwali sequence this year is Dhanteras on 6 November, Lakshmi Puja on 8 November, Govardhan Puja on 10 November and Bhai Dooj on 11 November; our Diwali 2026 guide covers the main night.

Times shift by a few minutes from city to city, so check a local panchang or our daily panchang if you are far from Delhi.

Abroad the day moves, because Pratipada lasts only a short while after sunrise in many time zones:

• USA and Canada: Monday, 9 November. Morning muhurat 6:36 am to 8:37 am in New York and 7:04 am to 9:03 am in Toronto (local time)
• UK: Monday, 9 November. Morning muhurat 7:08 am to 8:58 am in London (UK time)
• UAE: Monday, 9 November. In Dubai Pratipada begins at 11:02 am, so only the evening window applies: 3:22 pm to 5:34 pm (UAE time)
• Australia: Tuesday, 10 November. Morning muhurat 5:47 am to 8:32 am in Sydney (Sydney time)
• Singapore: Tuesday, 10 November. Morning muhurat 6:47 am to 9:11 am (Singapore time)

If your community or temple holds a joint Annakut, follow its date; it usually matches the local panchang.

The story comes from the Bhagavata Purana. Every year the people of Vraj prepared a great offering for Indra, the king of the gods and giver of rain. The young Krishna asked his father Nanda why. Their cows grazed on Govardhan hill, he said, and the hill gave them grass, water and shelter; the offering should go to Govardhan, to the cows and to the Brahmins.

The people agreed and worshipped the hill instead. Indra, angered, sent a storm of rain over Vraj. Krishna lifted Govardhan and held it up like an umbrella, and the people and their cows sheltered beneath it for seven days until the rain stopped. Indra recognised who Krishna was and asked his forgiveness. From this story Krishna is called Giridhari, the one who holds up the mountain.

Families read the story as a lesson in gratitude for what actually sustains life, the land, the water and the animals, and in trust that the Lord shelters those who depend on him.

Annakut means a mountain of food. Krishna temples prepare a large number of dishes, often grains, sweets, vegetables and savouries arranged as a hill before the deity, and share them as prasad. The Shrinathji temple at Nathdwara is especially known for its Annakut, and temples in Mathura and Vrindavan, including Banke Bihari, hold large celebrations.

In homes across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, families shape a small Govardhan in the courtyard from cow dung, worship it, and prepare as many dishes as they can.

The same Pratipada carries other names too. In Maharashtra and Karnataka it is Balipratipada or Padwa, remembering King Bali, and married couples exchange gifts. Gujarati families celebrate their new year on this Kartik Shukla Pratipada, greeting each other with Saal Mubarak. Check your own community's calendar for its exact day.

• Cow dung or clean clay to shape the Govardhan; in a flat, a tray of wheat flour dough or a heap of grain works too
• A picture or idol of Krishna
• Roli, haldi, akshat, chandan and mauli
• Flowers and a garland
• A ghee diya, incense and camphor
• Milk, curd, a little honey and water, for offering
• Small figures of cows, calves and cowherds made from the same dung, clay or dough
• The Annakut: a few dishes cooked at home, such as kadhi-chawal, mixed vegetables, puri and a sweet
• Kheer or a sweet made with milk
• Fodder, jaggery or rotis for cows, if you can offer them

As tradition describes it, the worship is done in the morning muhurat:

1. Bathe, clean the courtyard or puja place, and take a short sankalp with your name and gotra.
2. Shape a small Govardhan hill, often in the form of a reclining figure, with cow dung or clay. Place the figures of cows and cowherds around it and a Krishna picture beside it.
3. Offer water, roli, akshat, flowers and a lamp to Govardhan and to Krishna.
4. Offer milk and curd, then place the Annakut dishes before them.
5. Walk around the Govardhan (parikrama) while singing, as many times as your family's custom asks.
6. If there are cows at home or nearby, worship them with a tilak and flowers and offer fodder, jaggery or rotis.
7. Sing an aarti of Krishna, such as Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki, and share the Annakut as prasad with family and neighbours.

In a flat, make the Govardhan from dough or grain on a tray, and cook the dishes afterwards. The gratitude is the worship.

Texts families sing on Govardhan Puja, each with the full text and meaning on our site:

• Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki
• Madhurashtakam, on the sweetness of Krishna
• Hare Krishna Mahamantra

Govardhan Puja is also a day many people spend on cow care. If you cannot keep cows or reach a gaushala, our Pashu Seva page lets you have cows fed in your family's name, with photo proof.

If you would like a pooja at a temple, you can book a Krishna Pooja or a Krishna Archana. The pandit performs it in your name and gotra on the date you choose, and photo proof is sent to you by email afterwards. The same week, see our Diwali 2026 guide and our Bhai Dooj 2026 guide.