The fourth day of Diwali is celebrated as Goverdhan Puja and is dedicated to the worship of Lord Govardhan Parvat. The festival commemorates the incident of Lord Krishna lifting Mount Gowardhan. The auspicious day is also celebrated as Padwa or Varshapratipada and Balipratipada.

Legends of Goverdhan Puja
According to Vishnu Purana, citizens of Gokul - a small town in Uttar Pradesh, used to celebrate a festival at the end of monsoon to worship Lord Indra and express their gratitude for the rains. However, one particular year, young Krishna stopped the people of Gokul from worshiping Lord Indra and persuaded them to worship the fields and the cattle instead as they help in creating wealth. Following the incident there was a heavy downpour in Gokul. People got frightened as they felt that Lord Indra was angry with them and has sent a deluge to submerge the town. To save the scared people of Gokul, mighty Krishna lifted Mount Govardhan (a small hillock in Braj, near Mathura) on his little finger and sheltered men and beasts from the heavy rain. Lord Indra accepted the supremacy of Krishna and from then on Lord Krishna also came to be known as Govardhandhari.

Rituals and celebrations of Goverdhan Puja
To celebrate the incident of Lord Krishna lifting Mount Goverdhan Parvat, people of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Punjab worship Goverdhan Parvat on the day of Goverdhan Puja. They prepare a small hillock with cow-dung and decorate it with flowers. This small hillock represents Lord Govardhan Parvat and is worshiped.

Another ritual performed on this day is called ‘Annakoot’ meaning mountain of food. To perform Annakoot people distribute Bhog (food) to the needy. The ritual is celebrated with pomp in temples of Mathura and Nathadwara. Here, deities are given milk-bath and are adorned with bright attires and precious jewelry. After the traditional worship, various types of delicacies are raised in the form of mountain before the deities as ‘bhog’ and devotees take prasad from the Annakut (mountain of food).

People in South India celebrate the fourth day of Diwali as ‘Kartik Shuddh Padwa’ or ‘Bali Padyami’ / Balipratipada. It is believed that on this day King Bali come to visit the people on earth from Patalaloka (netherworld) as per boon given by Lord Vishnu.

Besides, the Padwa day also marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya and the beginning of Vikaram-Samvat.

Some also celebrate Gudi Padwa on this auspicious day wherein husband and wife re-affirm love and devotion between them. A wife applies red tilak on her husband’s forehead and prays for his long life. She also garlands the husband and performs arti of him. For this affectionate gesture, the husband pampers wife with gifts.