The Indian Artist: The Story of Govardhan

Good evening everybody!

I hope that you are all doing well and have a positive start to the semester. This is the final out of the three posts on my most recent painting. This week, I will be explaining the story behind the gorgeous scene, a moment in which Krishna saves all of the people of his home against the angry and jealous God of Weather. Enjoy!

Lord Indra controls the rain and the thunderstorms. He resides in the heavens and controls the weather, watching over the citizens of Earth and blessing them with rainfall to grow their crops and cattle. However, Indra has some vices as well. He is very easily pleased and angered by the acts of those he considers to be beneath him.

Vrindavan is a beautiful town in which Krishna lived and played. The residents of this gorgeous town were very dependent on agriculture and cattle for their living and relied heavily upon timely rains for their livelihood. This made Indra very important. One year, there were exceptionally good rains. The villagers decided to host a festival for Lord Indra to thank him for all of his kindness and mercy. When Krishna found out, he told the villagers that Indra was not responsible for the good weather, rather that it was the nearby mountain Govardhan, and that they should be praying to it instead.

This angered Indra severely. He decided to teach the town of Vrindavan a lesson. He brought down horrible rain and thunder on the villagers. Krishna, however, was not at all frightened. He assured all of his friends and family, placed his small pink hand under the mountain and lifted it entirely with his pinky. He started playing a gorgeous intoxicating melody with his flute and all of the fears of the villagers were dissipated. They gathered under Govardhan and started dancing and singing.

It rained non stop for seven days and nights and all the while, Krishna kept the massive mountain stable on his pinky finger. This affirmed that Krishna was never and would never be just an ordinary child. He was God himself. Indra witnessed this as well and suddenly was ashamed of his actions. He begged for forgiveness in front of Krishna and was forgiven.

This story teaches us that power, if not handles with care, compassion, and humility, can corrode even gods, let alone a person.

As always, if anything that I discussed in this post stands out, or if any questions arise please feel free to comment and share your thoughts! And for all other artists out there, take that leap of faith. Step our of your comfort zone. Who knows, it may turn your whole word upside down.

Looking forward to next Monday!

~ Riya

Personal website:   https://riyarts.weebly.com/