Cows are sacred to the Hindus. This devotion is taken to a whole new level at Bhiwdawad village, in Maharashtra. The Govardhan festival is celebrated on the occasion of Enadakshi, a day after Diwali. Villagers decorate their cattle with flowers, colors, and henna, and lay down on the ground letting allowing cows to trample over them!!! This ritual takes place after a five day fast. The whole village fathers to witness this spectacle, which they believe will move the gods into answering their prayers.
In a case any of these villagers sustain minor injuries, they are treated with cow urine and dung, which they say h
as medicinal qualities to heal these injuries. Two villages in Madhya Pradesh had people lying on the ground with hundreds of cows running over them as part of Diwali rituals.
Village Bhidawad in Badnagar tehsil of Ujjain and its nearby hamlets witnessed this unique and bizarre practice on the next day of Diwali on Friday. Villagers believe this would bring luck and fulfi
ll their wishes.
When asked if the ritual ends up injuring the participants in the process, locals claim that no one was hurt and that the tradition only brings good luck and prosperity.
Not just that, in case anyone sustains minor injuries, they are treated with cow urine and dung, which they say has medicinal qualities to heal these injuries.
Locals paint their livestock in bright colors and embellish them with bells for this ritual known as ‘Gaay Gauhri’. The villagers then drape garlands around their necks and lie on the ground to allow cows to run over them.
These men and women also dance to drum beats and other musical instruments for the event.
The herdsmen say it all started with a man praying for a son and when his wish came true, the villagers started observing this as an annual affair.
A Gau Gauhri festival was also observed at the Gowardhan temple in Jhabua district, where, apart from the “trampling” ritual, the villagers also felicitated the herdsmen. Locals claim that this tradit
ion exhibits the special bond that the herdsmen have with the cows.
The villagers said that the tradition is meant to seek blessings and the practice has been on since the era of the royals. The festival also allows the herdsmen to seek forgiveness from the sacred animals for herding them around the entire year.
Moreover, a Gowardhan statue made of cow-dung is prepared and the rituals are considered incomplete unless the cows step on this statue.
As is in Ujjain, the high-risk tradition is considered equally harmless in Jhabua, as the locals claim these cows do not hurt the h
erdsmen while running over them.
