Lord Krishna’s Majesty: The story of Lifting the Gowardhan Parvat.

In Vrindavan, there was a ritual of offering Yagya to appease Lord Indra and seek from him the blessing of rains. Lord Krishna was quietly witnessing the gathering where all the planning of the Puja and Yagna was going on. Lord Krishna who was just a small boy then raised question on the ritual the Vrajwasi followed blindly.

The elderly men explained to Krishna that it was customary for them to perform a sacrificial yagna so that Lord Indra continued to grace the land by providing rain and thus facilitating farming and vegetation. The little Krishna was in opposition to the ritual and debated that the people’s duty is to indulge in farming and cattle grazing and not try to control the natural phenomenon. The Vrijwasis were convinced by Krishna and hence all the preparations for the maha-Puja were halted immediately.

Lord Indra enjoyed being pleaded too and did not like the decision of stopping the Yagya. Lord Indra’s wrath was uncontrollable. Lord Indra wanted to punish the people Vrindavan for breaking their ritual. He ordered it to rain. Suddenly the whole Vrindavan was in the grip of Lord Indra’s rage. The rains were torrential accompanied by dangerous thunderstorms which were destructive. Lord Indra had ordered the tormenting clouds to cause extensive floods that would destroy the livelihood of the inhabitants. The helpless Vrijwasi rushed to Lord Krishna for rescue.

Lord Krishna had understood Indra’s intention. In order to save Vrindavan from destruction, Lod Krishna lifted the Govardhan Parvat on his little finger. The Govardhan part was huge and was enough to accommodate the villagers along with their cattle and other belongings. The rains went on for about 7 days. All this while Lord Krishna comfortably held the Govardhan parvat on his finger. The Vrijwasi had taken safe refuge under the Govardhan umbrella.

Lord Indra, on the other hand, was moved by Lord Krishna’s majesty and divine power, had no other choice but to withdraw the rains. The rain has stopped and the villagers went back to their houses with a sigh of relief. Lord Indra’s pride was thus broken and he realized his mistake.