In the twenty-fourth chapter of Ten Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Vasyadev describes the worship of Govardhan in the twenty-fourth chapter. The inhabitant of Brajas organized a yajna ceremony to appease Indra, the God of Rain.
Lord Sri Krishna asked his father Nanda Maharaja with humble respect, “O Father, for whom is this yajna being performed? And what is the result?”
Nand Maharaj said, “We are Gopa, Our business is cow raising. Therefore, rainfall is essential for the food of the cows, including crop production. Then Lord Sri Krishna said that Devraj Indra is not the main source of rain. Because if he is the main controller of rain, why is it raining in the sea? Thus, instead of Lord Indra Yajna, Lord Sri Krishna inspired the Brajwas along with Nanda Maharaj to worship Govardhan by describing the glory of Giriraj Govardhan.
Lord Sri Krishna has appeared in the form of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, teaching us that Krishna is our god, just as Krishna’s Lilabilas land Giri Govardhan is also our god. Govardhan Puja is identical to Krishna Puja.
This Govardhan Puja has been held since the Dwapara age. It is also known as Annakut. By the mercy of Srila Prabhupada, Govardhan puja was held at the ISKCON Swamibagh Ashram as a part of Worldwide ISKCON Temples. On this day, Giriraj was offered a thousand kinds of Bhoga.
Importance of Govardhan Puja:
Govardhan mountain, known as Haridas Barjya is known for its touch of Haripada Padma. This means that Hari’s servant is the best among all walks of life. One can attain the abode of Lord through Govardhan puja and rituals and satisfying Lord Krishna with infinite wealth, riches, cows and prosperity.
Regarding Sri Chaitanya Dev, Rabindranath Thakur said, “From our Bengali, Chaitanya was born; he did not live in the Bigha Katha or limitedly. He made all human beings yours; He made the Bangabhumi with enormous human love “
Not only as a world-teacher of human love, but Sri Chaitanya Dev’s contribution to Bengali literature is also unknown to anyone. Despite having no writings of Sri Chaitanya Dev in Bangla literature, an era has been created in his name. That name is Chaitanya Era. The first biographical literature was started through Sri Chaitanya Dev in Bengali literature. Many of the most renowned literary writers of the post-era were captivated by Chaitanya. National poet Kazi Nazrul Islam also sang about Chaitanyadev:
Barṇacōrā ṭhākura ēla rasēra nadīẏāẏa, tōrā dēkhabi yadi āẏa
ābāra kē’u balē tāẏa gaurahari, kē’u ābāra balē tāẏa.
Sri Chaitanya Dev was not an ordinary person with unique qualities. He is the incarnation of Lord Krishna. According to Padma Purana, ‘Prathama sandhyāẏāṁ gaurāṅgōhasya mahītalē.Bhāgīrathyā staṭē bhūẏō bhabiṣyati sanātanaḥ.’ That is, on the first evening of Kali Yuga, Sri Krishna will reborn as Gouranga on the shores of Bhagirathi (Ganges) on the earth.
In the age of Dwapara, Lord Krishna who taught the standard of Krishna Bhakti that same Krishna returned as Sri Chaitanya in this age of Kali, adopting devotee like features.
This time, however, he changed the demonic nature of the human heart by distributing love, not with weapons. His name was a unique means of distributing his love. This is the specialty of Sri Chaitanya Dev that he could defeat the enemy without his weapon, by his unique behavior. His love vision continues to illuminate the heart of the world people today, as evidenced by the globalization of His Sankirtan movement.
About 50 years ago, A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founder Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), went west by sea to preach the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Dev for world humanity. In his tireless efforts, the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Dev translated in the English language attracted the Westerners greatly, today millions of people are following his philosophy forgetting the white and black discrimination.
Today, there is no country in the world where the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is not being aired. Because of that, westerners are getting Bengali language education only for their biographical studies on earth today.
Ultimately, this is to say that today, the life-philosophy of Sri Chaitanya Dev is a unique way of awakening the conscience of world humanity in a war-torn world, which will motivate us to create a new era by breaking the barrier of our brutality and forgetting the differences in the nation.