Coming to our new home in Chatsworth
GoShaala
A compassionate and sacred space for the care and protection of cows
The complex will also be home to a GoShaala — a compassionate and sacred space for the care and protection of cows, honored in our scriptures as embodiments of motherhood, nourishment, and auspiciousness. This is our commitment to dharma and seva in its most pure and ancient form.
In our tradition the cow is revered as Gomata — Mother Cow — and Kamadhenu, the divine cow of abundance, is honored in our scriptures as the giver of all blessings. Caring for cows is one of the most cherished forms of seva.
Poojas & sevas
Ways to serve at the GoShaala
Go Pooja
Worship of the cow and calf with turmeric, kumkum, flowers and aarti, performed by the temple priest with a sankalpa in your family’s name.
Go Grasam
Offer fresh greens, fruits or jaggery to the cows with your own hands — a simple, joyful seva for devotees of all ages.
Go Pradakshina
Walk around the cow and calf in reverence. Circumambulating Gomata is traditionally regarded as highly auspicious.
Go Daanam
Sponsor the care of a cow in honor of a family occasion, a birthday or anniversary, or in loving memory of ancestors.
Go Seva Sponsorship
Support the daily care of the cows — feed for a day or a month, fodder, shelter and medical care.
Kamadhenu Pooja
Special worship of Gomata as Kamadhenu, offered for the well-being, prosperity and peace of your family.
Sacred days
Festivals celebrated at the GoShaala
Govatsa Dwadashi
At the start of Deepavali
Worship of the cow and calf together, honoring motherhood and nourishment.
Govardhan Pooja
The day after Deepavali
Celebrating Lord Krishna lifting Govardhan hill to protect the cows and people of Gokul.
Gopashtami
Kartika Shukla Ashtami
A day dedicated to the cows, marked with Go Pooja, feeding and decoration of the cows.
Mattu Pongal
January, after Sankranti
The cows are bathed, decorated and honored with thanks for their gifts to the family and the land.
Be part of this seva
Sevas will begin when the GoShaala opens at our new home. To sponsor a seva or support the GoShaala, please contact the temple.
Office: (818) 880-0028 · Priest: (818) 854-0920 · priest@svgtemple.org
Photo credits: cow and calf by Viveka BG (CC0); GoShaala shelter by 25 Cents FC (CC BY 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.