The logic behind 56 Bhog Concept

 

There is a tradition of offering 56 bhog to Lord Krishna. 56 bhog means 56 types of food items. This Bhog is offered on the occasion of Govardhan pooja or Annakut pooja. The special pooja is performed on the 4th day of the 5-day-long Diwali festival.

When I was a kid the decoration of 56 food items always astonished me. As I grew up and become a teen, I was always wondered why the number of food items is 56? It can be any number. Many numbers are often considered auspicious like 7, 9, 21, 51, 101, 108, etc.

I asked elders but never get any satisfactory answers. One day I got the answer while reading a kid’s storybook. There is a story behind every festival, so this festival is not an exception. It has a background story too. 

It is said that the people of Vrindavan had a tradition to offer special pooja and yagna to Indra, the god of rains. This pooja was a gesture of gratitude for the rain provided by lord Indra. When the villagers of Vrindavan were preparing for one such pooja, little Krishna opposed this tradition. 

The young boy argued and said providing rain is the duty of Indra, he should not expect a Thanksgiving ceremony on performing his duty. Krishna said to the villagers that if we want to say thanks, we should be thankful to the Govardhan Parvat (mountain) near to our village, our cattle are consuming its herbs and providing us milk. This way the silent mountain is supporting us in our business and never asking anything in return.

People convinced with his logic and that particular year instead of worshiping lord Indra they worshipped the mountain known as Govardhan. When Indra hears the news and came to know that the people of Vrindavan are following the words of a little boy and worshiping a mountain made of soil and rocks. He became angry and decided to punish the villagers. He sent heavy clouds to the area to destroy the entire village by heavy rains.

By looking at nonstop heavy rain and thunderstorm Krishna understood Indra’s intention. Krishna asked everybody to remain calm, and he lifted Govardhan parvat on the little finger of his left hand. All the villagers with their cattle refuge under the huge umbrella of the Govardhan. After a week of continuous rainfall and thunderstorms, Indra finally gave up. The rain stopped and people returned to their homes.

After returning to the village they offer Krishna 56 Bhog because Krishna used to eat 8 small meals in a day and he had not taken anything for a week because he had lifted the Govardhan parvat for a week. So as per the calculations he missed 56 meals. That’s why villagers offer their wonder boy 56 food items. From that year the tradition of offering 56 Bhog started.

 

Lesson for parents

Apart from the religious story, I found a hidden message for parents in the story. We often complain about the eating habits of kids and are mostly not satisfied with the portion of meals consumed by a kid.

 Everybody should take small meals at regular intervals rather than two heavy meals in a day. Little Krishna was a very energetic and active kid and to keep a kid energetic and active we need to feed the little tummy at regular intervals.

#56bhog #krishnastories