Feature
Know what is Govardhan Puja and why it is celebrated after Diwali
As we all know that India is a religious country and many festivals use to be celebrated here especially in the second half of the year during Diwali festival, as soon as Festival of lights gets over the next comes Govardhan Puja and Bhai Dooj. So today we will tell you what is Annakut.
The Hindu devotees offer a mountain of food on Govardhan Puja, metaphorically representing the Govardhan Hill, to Lord Krishna as a ritual remembrance and to renew their faith in taking refuge in God.
This special occasion of Govardhan Puja, also called Annakut or Annakoot, is a Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Krishna. Annakoot, which translates to “a mountain of food”, is offered to the lord as a mark of gratitude.
Now according to Bhagvata Puran, Lord Krishna had lifted the Govardhan Hill to provide shelter to the Vrindavan villagers from torrential rains. Devotees offer a mountain of food, metaphorically representing the Govardhan Hill, to Lord Krishna as a ritual remembrance and to renew their faith in taking refuge in God.
The Annakut festival occurs on the first lunar day of Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight) in the Hindu calendar month of Kartik, which is the fourth day of Deepavali (Diwali).
Read here what id Govardhan Puja and why we celebrate it after Diwali Festival:
A story mentioned in the Bhagavata Purana traces the origin of the Govardhan Puja. Cowherds living close to Govardhan in Uttar Pradesh used to celebrate the autumn season by paying respect to Indra, the God of rain and storm.
Krishna, however, desired that the villagers worship Mount Govardhan instead as it provides natural resources to the villagers and was responsible for the natural phenomena that occur in the city of Gokul.
When Indra saw the villagers’ devotion diverted away from him and toward Krishna, he initiated thunderstorms and heavy rains in the city. To protect the people from the storms, Krishna lifted the Govardhan mountain on his little finger and provided shelter to the people and cattle of the city.
When the people of Gokul remained unaffected, even after 7-8 days of continuous storms, Indra accepted defeat and stopped the storms. This day is therefore celebrated as Govardhan Puja and respect is paid to Mount Govardhan and Lord Krishna and Govardhan has since become a major pilgrimage site in Braj for the Krishna devotees.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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