It involves communities hanging a clay pot filled with yogurt (dahi), butter, or another milk-based food at a convenient or tall height.

Young men and women form teams, make a human pyramid, and attempt to reach or break the pot.

[6][8][9] The event is based on the legend of the god Krishna along with his friends mischievously stealing butter and other curd from neighbouring homes in Gokul as a child.

[13] The event involves making a human pyramid and breaking an earthen pot filled with milk, curd, butter, fruits and water which is hung at a convenient height, thus imitating the actions of child Krishna.

At the famous Tirupati Venkateswara Temple, this ancient sport is celebrated with great fervor on navami (the day after krishna janmastami).

[1] The sport is played in front of the deities by local youth to try and win the prize money which is tied to the end of a 25 foot long wooden post, smeared with sticky and other oily substances.

Every year thousands of people and hundreds of govinda teams gather at Pune, Mumbai and Thane's Dahi Handi events.

[18] Some mandals even incorporated social messages like female foeticide or about the environment into their act; the Shiv Sena and MNS focus on Marathi culture.

[20] In 2012, a mandal[21] called Jai Jawan Govinda Pathak from Jogeshwari, Mumbai, made an entry into the Guinness World Record by forming a human pyramid of 9 tiers 43.79 feet (13.35 m) at the Dahi Handi event held in Thane; the previous record was held by Spain since 1981.

A report in 2012 from the Journal of Postgraduate Medicine, concluded that "There is a considerable risk of serious, life-threatening injuries inherent to human pyramid formation and descent in the Dahihandi festival".

[27] The Bombay High Court later ruled in August that the minimum age should be raised to 18 years and height of the pyramid should be no more than 20 feet due to safety reasons.