There is an interesting story in the Bhagavata Purana about Krishna lifting Govardhan Parvat on his little finger.
Once Krishna saw villagers of the Braj (region mainly in Uttar Pradesh of India, around Mathura – Vrindavan) are planning for the Puja of Lord Indra.
Krishna, as a child then asked them why they are pleasing Lord Indra by doing Puja.
One of the villagers explained to Krishna that this is done every year to please Lord Indra so that he continued to grace the people of Braj by providing rain as and when required.
Krishna disapproved of it and wanted to teach a lesson to Lord Indra that it is the Dharma (duty) of Indra to provide rain for the people without any Puja or rituals.
He convinced the inhabitants that they should stop performing Puja for Indra. They should not perform pujas or conduct sacrifices for any natural phenomenon.
Instead, they should honor Mount Govardhan, whose fertile soil provided the grass upon which the cows and bulls grazed.
And also honor the cows and bulls who provided milk and plowed the lands.
Indra got enraged with the inhabitants of Braj that instead of worshipping him, the King of Devas, they are worshipping Mount Govardhan.
To punish them, he sends terrible rain clouds to flood the land of Vrindavan.
Calling the Samavartaka clouds of devastation, lndra ordered them to lash upon Vrindavan with torrents of rain and thunderstorms and cause extensive floods that would destroy the livelihood of the inhabitants.
Krishna lifted Mount Govardhan:
Frightened people of Vrindavan goes to Krishna for help. To protect villagers from this calamity, Krishna lifted Mount Govardhan on his little finger and had the entire village come under the hill to take shelter from the storm.
For seven days and seven nights, he held up Mount Govardhan, providing a giant umbrella to shelter the inhabitants of Vrindavan from the torrential rain.
Realizing his blunder, Indra called back the clouds of devastation. The sky became clear again, and the sun shines brightly over Vrindavan.
This is how the false pride of King Indra was shattered to pieces. He came to Lord Krishna with folded hands and prayed to Him for forgiveness.
Krishna explained to him that it is his Dharma (duty) to provide rain for the people without expecting any Puja or rituals.
Several thousand years later, on this same day, Srila Madhavendra Puri established a temple for the self-manifest Gopala Deity on top of Govardhana Hill.
By lifting Govardhan Parvat (mountain), Lord Krishna demonstrated that any purpose for which demigods might be worshipped could easily be served by worshipping him, the supreme cause of all causes.
Also, he demonstrated that God is present in nature, in trees, plants, flowers, animals, etc. Therefore to worship God, one should honor and take care of nature.
One should be grateful towards nature for providing all the necessary things required for sustaining life.
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