Govatsa Dwadashi (Vagh Baras / Vasu Baras)

Govatsa Dwadashi, celebrated on the twelfth day of the dark half of Kartik (Ashwin in the Amanta calendar), is the traditional first day of the grand Deepotsav (Diwali) celebrations across Western India. Known as 'Vasu Baras' in Maharashtra and 'Vagh Baras' in Gujarat, the festival is dedicated to honoring cows and their young calves as living symbols of divine motherhood, fertility, and gratitude.

In Indian culture, the cow is revered as 'Gau Mata', whose body is believed to house all thirty-three types of celestial deities. On this day, families worship cows and calves, adorning them with turmeric, vermilion, floral garlands, and offering nutritious festive delicacies to thank them for nurturing human civilization.

During the Samudra Manthan (churning of the cosmic ocean), the divine wish-fulfilling cow Kamadhenu emerged from the waters, providing pure nourishment and abundance to all creation. Her daughter, the calf Nandini, was gifted to Sage Vashistha.

A popular tradition holds that on this day, Lord Krishna and his cowherd companions returned from grazing cattle in the pastures of Vrindavan, and Krishna personally bathed and decorated the cows to express gratitude for their unconditional milk and motherly love. Worshipping cows on this day is believed to cleanse households of ancestral debts and bestow long life and prosperity upon children.

• Locate a healthy cow and calf pair in a cowshed (Gaushala) or neighborhood.
• Wash their hooves with clean water and apply turmeric and vermilion (kumkum) tilaks to their foreheads.
• Drape a colorful cloth or garland of marigold flowers around the cow's neck.
• Offer freshly prepared sprouted moong beans (moth), gram, and jaggery mixed with raw wheat flour.
• Perform aarti with a lit brass lamp and circumambulate (Pradakshina) the cow three times.
• Feed the calf with sweet flatbreads and touch the cow's back to receive blessings.