Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava

Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava

The Panihati Chida-Dahi Utsava is a famous festival in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition commemorating the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu upon Raghunatha das Goswami.

This festival took place at Panihati in West Bengal on the bank of the Ganges River. When Raghunatha dāsa Gosvāmī approached Nityānanda Prabhu seeking mercy, Nityānanda jokingly “punished” him by ordering him to arrange a grand feast for all the devotees.

Raghunatha dāsa happily organized a huge festival of:

• chipped rice (chida),

• yogurt (dahi),

• milk,

• bananas,

• sweets,

  
  

  and many other preparations.

Thousands of devotees honored the prasāda while chanting the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

According to devotees, this pastime teaches:

• humility,

• service to Vaiṣṇavas,

• mercy of guru,

• and the importance of prasāda distribution.