Krishna, also known as the “Butter Thief”, is believed to be the eighth avatar out of the ten avatars of Lord Vishnu. He is one of the supreme gods of Hindu culture and is known for his mischievousness, power, and the divine love he offers to his loyal devotees. He is also known for the Hindu Book, “Srimad Bhagvad Geeta”, which a book of similar importance as the Holy Bible or the Quran. He is also known for helping Arjun in the Mahabharat, or the Great War, which is also where he gave Arjun, an ardent devotee of his, one of the greatest quotes ever said. He told him, “Yaada yaada hi dharmasya, glanir bhavati bharata, abhyutthanam adharmasya, tadatmanaam srijaam ya ham.”-Whenever and wherever there is a decline in good, O descendant of Bharata, and a predominant rise of evil; at that time I descend Myself.
And so, when the world was falling into great evil, at the hands of people like Kansa and Duryodhana, Lord Vishnu came to earth from his celestial abode, in the incarnation of Krishna, who was going to be the son of Vasudeva and Devaki. Soon after being born not only did he destroy Kansa and rid the world of most of its evil, he did an astounding miracle to save his people, the Brij, who was, at that time, residing in Vrindavan.
Lord Krishna lifted a gargantuan hill, which was and is known as Govardhana Giri, Giri Govardhana, or Govardhana Parvat, to save his people, the Brij, from Indra, King of Devas (Gods) and Rain. Indra was showering the people with vicious storms, since he had gotten angry by their worshiping of Govardhana, itself, rather than him. Therefore, to save his dear people, Krishna lifted Govardhana Parvat with just his little finger, continuously, for seven whole days, until Indra’s anger subsided. Govardhana Giri is now a historical site located in Vrindavan, India.
One of the main reasons for Indra’s angry outbursts
One of the main reasons for Indra’s angry outbursts was that the Brij people, who usually worshiped Indra, through a Yagna (Sacred Fire Ceremony) to get good weather and fortune, began to quit worshipping the King of the Devas, and, instead, they began to worship Govardhana Giri, the clouds, and Nature. This was due to the fact that Krishna had asked his people why they were worshipping Indra, when Nature was the one that gave them rain. He said that the wind blew the clouds to where they were, Govardhana Giri pierced the clouds, and the clouds let the rain down. He told the Brij people that we should worship Nature, for it is what gave us rain, and not Indra. He also told that instead of using all your food and valuables for the sacrifices, they should be gifted to the cows, which are sacred in India, the sick, and the Brahmans.
Brij people started worshiping Govardhana Giri
So the Brij people listened to Krishna, and started worshiping Govardhana Giri and the rest of nature; they started to give food and valuables to the cows, the sick, and the Brahmans. When Indra saw what the Brij people were doing, he becomes full of rage and caused a savage storm to reach Vrindavan. When the Brij people panicked and started to regret worshiping Govardhana, Krishna lifted Govardhana Parvat with his little finger and told everyone to get under the hill, until Indra’s anger subsided and storm let down, which did not happen for seven days. However, when seven days had passed, Indra swallowed his pride and accepted defeat. The King of Devas, himself, came to Vrindavan, and fell down at the feet of Lord Krishna, and begged the Lord to forgive him of his pride and arrogance. Lord Krishna forgave him with good grace, but told the King of Devas not to compel others to worship him, and never to abuse his power again.
This is a part of Lord Krishna’s life, known as Bal Leela, or his childhood, and he did this to show others not to abuse their power or position, for there is always going to be someone who will be higher than them, and then they will learn the lesson the hard way.
