Grand Annakut of 1200 dishes offered at BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Vadodara

The Hindu New Year was celebrated with great devotion and grandeur at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Temple located in the Atladara area of Vadodara. On the auspicious occasion of the beginning of Vikram Samvat 2083, a festival was organized to traditionally offer 'Annakut' to the Lord. This year, the new year began with the offering of more than 1200 different types of dishes before the Lord. After the Govardhan Puja, this massive Annakut was arranged in front of the idols of the Lord in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, which became the main center of attraction for the visitors.

The most notable aspect of this grand Annakut was that all the 1200+ dishes included in it were prepared by female devotees. These women had cooked with immense faith and devotion. The specialty of these dishes was that no onion, garlic, or ginger was used in them. Preparing such a large number of various types of delicacies provides an excellent example of the service and dedication of these women. According to Saint Gyanvatsal Swami of the temple, the Annakut festival is a special occasion of faith, service, and devotion, which provides spiritual energy to the devotees.

Not only traditional dishes but also many fast-food items popular in modern times were included in the Annakut. This includes items like pizza, cake, biscuits, and various types of juices. In addition, traditional Gujarati dishes like Shrikhand and various types of Farsan were also served as offerings. All these dishes of different colors, tastes, and shapes were arranged in a very attractive manner, to see which a large number of devotees flocked. A huge crowd of devotees was seen in the temple premises to have darshan and seek blessings of the Lord on the first day of the new year.

This festival is celebrated traditionally every year, in which the new year is started by offering Annakut to the Lord. This year too, the devotees felt blessed by seeing this grand offering decorated before the Lord. A confluence of devotion and modernity was seen in this program organized by the temple administration.

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is an international socio-spiritual organization, which is based on the principles of the Swaminarayan sect. This organization manages many temples across the world and plays an active role in social service through social, educational, and cultural activities. The Atladara temple in Vadodara is one of the main centers of this organization, which has been known for years for its work of devotion and service. According to the report of Aaj Tak, there was a huge presence of devotees in this festival and the entire atmosphere became devotional.