Editor’s Note
This article details the preparations for the sacred Govardhan Chhappan Bhog offering in Mathura, highlighting the ceremonial invitation extended to the deity and the community’s involvement in the upcoming event.
Mathura. On the occasion of Anant Chaturdashi, Giriraj Prabhu has been invited for the divine Chhappan Bhog (56-course offering) at the foothills of the Govardhan hill in Mathura. Following this, the invitation booklet for the Lord was released at a program held at the Shri Krishna Auditorium in Mathura by Murari Agarwal, founder of the Giriraj Seva Samiti.
Ashok Kumar Aarhati, General Secretary of the committee, provided this information. Prior to this, the formal inauguration of the release ceremony was performed with a lamp lighting by the committee’s founder Murari Agarwal, President Dinanath Rambhavan, and General Secretary Ashok Kumar Aarhati.
Artisans from Kolkata and Odisha are building a 100-foot high royal palace in the Braj style. Foreign flowers have been imported from Thailand, Mauritius, and Malaysia to decorate the entire foothill area. The adornment of the Lord will be done with the nine gems (Navratnas) — gold, silver, diamond, pearl, emerald, sapphire, topaz, ruby, and coral — by Sharad Mukhiya Ji of the Vaishnava sect.
A Swami Haridas music festival will be organized from 7 PM on the 27th. The Chhappan Bhog will take place on Anant Chaturdashi, September 28, where 21,000 kilograms of 56 types of Bhog Prasad will be prepared according to Vaishnava rituals using pure cow ghee. Darshan (viewing) will be available from 3 PM to 12 midnight.
The release ceremony was attended by Dinanath Rambhavan, Bhagwan Das Khandelwal, Raghavendra Garg, Rajendra Sarraf, Neeraj Goyal, Dinesh Sadabad, Harish Gilat, Banke Bihari Soni, Krishna Kumar Kannu Sarraf, Pradeep Gupta Sarraf, Rajiv Agarwal, Kapil Agarwal, Roto Rakesh Garg Aarhati, among others.
