Govardhan Dhari – Stories of Lord Krishna
Lord Krishna is also known as Govardhan Dhari – the one who held the Govardhan parvat. When Lord Krishna was a young boy everybody in Brajdham loved and respected him. Once it so happened, that Lord Krishna told the people of Brajdham to stop worshipping Lord Indra. Everybody agreed to stop praying to Indra. Lord Indra was very angry at this insult. He thought, ‘How dare these milkmen and shepherds insult me? They have become too proud of themselves. How dare they treat me this way? Now I’ll teach them a lesson, they’ll remember all their lives.
So Lord Indra called Samvartak. They were the dark clouds which rained torrents of rainto cause floods and typhoons and other such calamities. Lord Indra ordered him, ‘Go and rain on Brajdham heavily to cause floods. I’ll arrive behind you with Erawat and the elephant army.
Samvartak reached the Brajdham with the dark clouds. There they fell heavily and sent non-stop showers. Soon Brajdham was flooded. Trees were uprooted and wild winds started destroying the houses. The people rushed to Lord Krishna for help, ‘O Krishna, only you can save us from Indra’s wrath. Please save your Brajdham, they pleaded.
‘Yes, said Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna reached Govardhan Parvat, a huge hill. Everybody was surprised, when he picked it up in his right hand as jilt was a feather and held it high. Then he said to the people, ‘Go and get your families, cattle and stand with me under this till the thunderstorms and rains subside. Believe me you’ll all be safe. Govardhan will not fall on you as you think ‘This untimely change in weather is surely the wrong doing of Lord Indra. He is not behaving as Gods do, he said to the people. The people of Brajdham rushed to take cover under Govardhan Parvat with their precious possessions. The rains and thunderstorms continued for seven days and all this time Lord Krishna stood holding the hill on his hand. He neither slept nor ate anything.
Seeing the determination and strength of Lord Krishna, Lord Indra was surprised. He felt ashamed of his doing and his pride had taken a fall. He ordered Samvartak to stop the showers. When the storms and rains were over, Lord Krishna asked the people to return to their homes. Then he put back Govardhan Parvat at its original position. The people then rushed to touch his feet with hearts full of gratitude.
Yashoda, Rohini and Nanda, all embraced young Krishna with love and pride. And after this incident Lord Krishna earned the name of Govardhan Dhari, which means one who held the Govardhan Parvat.
