Krishna lifts Govardhan Hill

1. 5.10. Part 5, Section 10

   5.10.1Parashara says that while Krishna and Rama played in Vraja, the rainy season ended and autumn came, with lotuses in full bloom. Fish suffered in the heat, like a man worn down by selfish desires for his family. Peacocks fell silent, like hermits who give up worldly pleasures.
2. 5.10.2White clouds emptied of rain left the sky, like wise people leaving home after finding wisdom. Lakes dried up in the sun, like hearts dried up by selfishness. Still waters filled with white lilies, like pure minds that see the truth.
3. 5.10.3The moon shone brightly among the stars, like a saint near the end of life among good people. Rivers slowly drew back from their banks, like wise people slowly loosening their attachment to family. Swans came back to the lakes, like false hermits who slip back into worldly troubles.
4. 5.10.4The ocean grew calm, like a saint who has found deep peace through discipline. The waters became clear, like the minds of wise people who see Vishnu in everything. The cloudless sky was like a devotee's heart with its worries burned away. The cool moon eased the sun's heat, the way clear thinking eases the pain of pride.
5. 5.10.5Autumn cleared the clouds from the sky, dried the mud and made the waters clear again. The poet compares this to how deep focus pulls the mind away from things the senses chase. The lake filling, staying still and then going down is compared to breathing in, holding the breath and breathing out in yoga practice.
6. 5.10.6In autumn Krishna went to Vraja, the cowherds' village, and saw everyone busy getting ready for a festival for Sakra (another name for Indra, king of the gods). Krishna was very wise, but he asked the elders, as if just curious, what this festival was and why they were so happy about it.
7. 5.10.7A cowherd kindly explains that Indra, king of the gods, rules the clouds and rain. Rain grows the grain that feeds people and lets them make offerings to the gods. Rain also keeps the cows healthy, so they have calves and give milk.
8. 5.10.8The cowherd continues: wherever rain falls, crops grow and nobody goes hungry. Indra draws water up from the earth through the sun's rays and pours it back down as rain for everyone. That is why kings and ordinary people all honor Indra with offerings when the rainy season ends.
9. 5.10.9Parashara, the sage telling this story, says Krishna (here called Damodara) answered his foster-father Nanda in a way meant to make Indra angry. Krishna says: we are not farmers or traders, we live in the forests, and cows are our gods. He then begins to explain the practical knowledge of how people earn a living.
10. 5.10.10Krishna says there are three ways of making a living: farming, trading and raising cattle. Farmers live by farming, traders by trade, and the cowherds live by tending cows. So whatever actually supports a person should be what they honor most, because it is what helps them.
11. 5.10.11Krishna says a person who worships someone else's god while living from his own does not do well in this life or the next. He describes the cowherds' world: past the farms is forest, and past the forest are hills. They have no walls, fields or houses, and they travel happily wherever they like in their wagons.
12. 5.10.12Krishna says they have heard that the mountain spirits take any shape and roam the woods. If angry with forest people, they can become lions or wild beasts and kill them. So the cowherds should honor the mountains and their cattle, not Indra, because cattle and mountains are their true gods.
13. 5.10.14Krishna suggests that after making the offerings and feeding the Brahmins (priests), the cowherds should walk in a circle around the cows, which are decorated with autumn flower garlands. If they do this, they will win the favor of the mountain and of himself.
14. 5.10.15When Nanda and the other cowherds heard Krishna, their faces lit up with joy. They agreed he had spoken well and said they would do just as he said and worship the mountain.
15. 5.10.16The people of Vraja worshipped the mountain with offerings of curds, milk and meat. They fed thousands of Brahmins and guests, just as Krishna had said. Then they walked around the cows and the loudly bellowing bulls.
16. 5.10.17On top of Govardhan Hill, Krishna appeared as the mountain, said "I am the mountain" and ate the food the cowherds offered. At the same time, in his usual form, he climbed the hill with the cowherds and worshipped this other form of himself. The mountain-form promised many blessings and vanished, and everyone went home.

17. 5.11. Part 5, Section 11

    5.11.1Parashara tells his student Maitreya that Indra, angry at losing his offerings, called the great storm clouds. He ordered them to obey without question and to punish Nanda and the cowherds, who trusted Krishna, by hurting their cattle with wind and rain. Indra said he would ride his huge elephant and help make the storm stronger.
18. 5.11.2Following Indra's command, the clouds came down in a terrible storm of wind and rain to destroy the cattle. The rain was so heavy that earth, sky and horizon seemed to blend into one. The clouds thundered and poured without stopping.
19. 5.11.3Rain poured day and night, darkness covered the earth, and water was everywhere. The cows shrank down in fear or died. Some shielded their calves with their bodies, others watched their calves swept away, and the shivering calves looked to their mothers or moaned as if calling to Krishna for help.
20. 5.11.4Krishna (here called Hari) saw the whole village of Gokula terrified, people and cattle alike. He knew Indra caused this out of anger at losing the offerings meant for him. He decided it was his duty to protect the village, and planned to lift the mountain and hold it like a giant umbrella over them.
21. 5.11.5Krishna lifted Govardhan Hill with one hand as easily as if playing. He told the cowherds to hurry under it, where they would be safe from the wind and rain, and not to fear that the mountain would fall.
22. 5.11.6All the people, soaked by the rain, came under the mountain with their cattle, wagons and belongings. Krishna held it steady over their heads. They gazed at him with joy and wonder and sang his praises.
23. 5.11.7For seven days and nights Indra's clouds poured rain on the village, but the mountain kept everyone safe. Defeated, Indra told the clouds to stop. When the sky cleared, the people went home, and Krishna, while they watched in amazement, put the mountain back in its place.