"Krishna found all the cowherds busily engaged in preparing offerings to Indra and, going to the elders, he asked them, as if out of curiosity, what festival of Indra it was in which they took so much pleasure.

Nanda replied to his question, and said: "Satakratu (or Indra) is the sovereign of the clouds and of the waters. Sent by him, the former bestow moisture upon the earth, whence springs the grain by which we and all embodied beings subsist; with which, also, and with water, we please the gods.

Hence, too, these cows bear calves and yield milk, and are happy, and well-nourished. So, when the clouds are seen distended with rain, the earth is neither barren of corn, nor bare of verdure; nor is man distressed by hunger. Indra, the giver of water, having drunk the milk of earth by the solar rays, sheds it, again, upon the earth, for the sustenance of all the world. On this account, all sovereign princes offer, with pleasure, sacrifices to Indra, at the end of the rains; and so, also, do we, and so do other people."

When Krishna heard this speech from Nanda, in regard to the worship of Indra, he determined to put the king of the celestial into a passion, and replied: We, father, are neither cultivators of the soil, nor dealers in merchandise: cows are our divinities; and we are sojourners in forests. There are four branches of knowledge: logical, scriptural, practical, and political.
...

What have we to do with Indra?

Let prayer and offerings, then, be addressed to the mountain Govardhana.

When Nanda and the other Gopas heard these words of Krishna, their faces expanded with delight, and they said that he had spoken well. "You have judged rightly, child," exclaimed they. "We will do exactly as you have proposed, and offer adoration to the mountain.

Upon the summit of Govardhana, Krishna presented himself, saying "I am the mountain," and partook of much food presented by the Gopas; whilst, in his own form as Krishna, he ascended the hill, along with the cowherds, and worshiped his other self. Having promised them many blessings, the mountain-person of Krishna vanished; and, the ceremony being completed, the cowherds returned to their station.

Indra, offended by the loss of his offerings, causes heavy rain to deluge Gokula (Gokul).

In an instant, the earth, the points of the horizon, and the sky were, all, blended into one by the heavy and incessant shower. The clouds roared aloud, as if in terror of the lightning's scourge, and poured down uninterrupted torrents.

Krishna uplifted the spacious mountain from its stony base, and held it up with his little finger. Krishna said to the herdsmen: "Lo! the mountain is on high. Enter beneath it, quickly; and it will shelter you from the storm. Here you will be secure, and at your ease, defended from the wind. Enter, without delay; and fear not that the mountain will fall."

For seven days and nights did the vast clouds, sent by Indra, rain upon the Gokula of Nanda, to destroy its inhabitants; but they were protected by the elevation of the mountain.

Indra, being foiled in his purpose, commanded the clouds to cease. The threats of Indra having been fruitless, and the heavens clear, all Gokula came forth (from its shelter), and returned to its own abode.

Then, Krishna, in the sight of the surprised inhabitants of the forests, restored the great mountain Govardhana to its original site.

After Gokula had been saved by the elevation of the mountain, Indra came to Govardhana, where the king of the gods beheld the mighty Damodara tending cattle, and assuming the person of a cow-boy, and, although the preserver of the whole world, surrounded by the sons of the herdsmen. Above Krishna's head Indra saw Garuda, the king of birds, invisible to mortals, spreading out his wings, to shade the head of Hari.

Indra paid homage to Krishna."

1864

Sacred Govardhan

"No one will bring (take away) a stone from the Sacred Govardhan near Mathura, because it is supposed to be endowed with life. The Yadavas, who are connected with the same part of the country, had a stone fetish, described in the Vishnu Purana, which brought rain and plenty. There are numerous legends connected with many of these fetish stones, such as that in the temple of Daksha at Kankhal and Gorakhnatha in Kheri, which are said to owe the fissures in them to the blow of the battle-axe or sword of one of The Invaders. Of Gorakhnatha it is said that The Invader attempted to drag up the great Lingam, and failed to do so even with the aid of elephants. When he came to investigate the cause of his failure, tongues of flame burst from the bottom of the pillar."

Mount Govardhan, Krishna and Indra

"Krishna on one occasion diverted the homage and adoration due to Indra to Mount Govardhan, at which Indra became exceedingly indignant, and determined to punish the worshippers of Krishna who had so dishonoured him and defrauded him of his rights. Gathering together the clouds of heaven, he commenced pouring down upon the earth a prodigious flood of water, with the object of drowning the people; but Krishna, lifting up the mountain Govardhan, held it over like an umbrella, balanced on his little finger, so that, over an extent of one hundred and sixty miles, no rain fell, and the people [and cows and animals] were preserved in safety."

1868

Gopashtami (or Gokulashtami), the eighth day of Kartik (shukla-paksha): "The cows are decorated and supplied with special food on the Gopashtami (or Gokulashtami) Krishna festival."