The Govardhan Puja Story for Kids: Why Krishna Lifted the Hill

The day after the main Lakshmi Puja of Diwali, in many parts of North and West India, families celebrate Govardhan Puja. In temples, a great mountain of food is offered, sometimes hundreds of dishes arranged in a heap. In many homes, a small hill is shaped from cow dung or clay in the courtyard and worshipped. In Gujarat, the same day is celebrated as the New Year.

Most children know the picture behind this festival: little Krishna holding a whole mountain up on one finger, with the village sheltering beneath. But the story behind that picture, why Krishna did it and what it meant, is richer than the picture alone. It is told in the Bhagavata Purana.

The preparations for Indra

Krishna was growing up in Vraja, among the cowherds, in the village of his foster father Nanda. One year, when Krishna was about seven, he noticed the elders busily preparing for a great sacrifice. Heaps of food were being cooked, and offerings collected. Curious, he asked his father what it was all for.

Nanda explained that every year they worshipped Indra, the king of the gods and the lord of rain. Indra sends the rain that grows the grass, the grass feeds the cows, and the cows give milk. So we must keep Indra pleased.

Krishna’s question

Krishna thought about this, and then asked a question no one expected from a child. Why should we worship Indra? Our life does not come from him. We are cowherds. Our wealth is our cows. Our cows live on the grass of Govardhan hill. The hill gives us shade, water, grass and shelter. The forest and the hill are what truly keep us alive. Rain falls according to nature. Instead of worshipping Indra out of fear, let us honour the hill, the cows and the brahmins, and feed everyone.

The elders were surprised, but they loved Krishna and found his words wise. So they did exactly as he said. They took all the food they had prepared for Indra and offered it to Govardhan hill. They fed the cows, the brahmins, the poor and even the animals. They decorated the cows and walked around the hill in worship. Then everyone ate and celebrated together.

Indra’s anger

Up in the heavens, Indra was furious. How dare these simple cowherds, and a child, stop worshipping him? In his pride, he decided to teach them a lesson. He called the most destructive clouds of all and ordered them to flood Vraja.

The sky turned black. Thunder roared and lightning cracked. Rain fell in torrents, along with hail and fierce winds. The rivers rose and the fields flooded. The cows shivered and the people were terrified. They ran to Krishna, crying for help.

The hill becomes an umbrella

Krishna was calm. He walked to Govardhan hill and, as easily as a child picks up a mushroom, the Bhagavata says, he lifted the entire hill with one hand and held it up like a giant umbrella. In many tellings and paintings he holds it on the little finger of his left hand.

He called everyone to come beneath it: the people, the cows, the calves, everyone and everything they owned. Underneath the hill, they were completely safe and dry.

For seven days and seven nights, Indra’s storm raged. And for seven days and seven nights, Krishna stood there holding up the hill, without eating, without sleeping, without moving, smiling at his friends and family to keep their spirits up.

Indra learns a lesson

At last Indra realised that no storm he could send would be strong enough. Ashamed, he called back his clouds. The sky cleared and the sun came out. Krishna told everyone to come out, and gently put the hill back exactly where it had been.

Later, Indra came down to Vraja himself, humbled. He bowed before Krishna and asked for forgiveness. With him came Surabhi, the divine cow, who bathed Krishna with her milk. Because Krishna had protected the cows, he was given the name Govinda, and in some tellings, Indra consecrated him as the lord of the cows.

Krishna did not lift the hill to show off his strength. He lifted it because the people who trusted him needed shelter. That is the kind of strength worth having.

What the story teaches

The story of Govardhan carries several lessons for children. The first is about pride: Indra, powerful as he was, was brought low by his own arrogance. The second is about nature. Krishna asked people to honour the hill, the forest and the cows that actually sustained them, which is a very modern idea: taking care of the environment that takes care of us. And the third is about protection: real strength is using what you have to shelter others.

Ask your child: what is your Govardhan? What in nature around you keeps your family alive and well, the trees, the river, the farms? How could you thank it?

How Govardhan Puja is celebrated

The day is also called Annakut, which means a mountain of food. In temples, especially in the Vaishnava tradition, devotees prepare a huge variety of dishes and arrange them in a mountain shape before the deity, remembering the food the people of Vraja offered to the hill. The food is then shared as prasad.

At Govardhan hill itself, near Mathura, many pilgrims walk the parikrama, the circuit of about twenty-one kilometres around the hill. In many homes, families shape a small Govardhan from cow dung or clay, decorate it with flowers and small figures of cows and cowherds, and walk around it. Cows are bathed, decorated and worshipped.

Celebrating with children

Make a small Govardhan hill from clay or play dough, and let your child add trees, cows and a little Krishna holding it up. Cook a few extra dishes and arrange them together as a family Annakut. And tell the story in full, with Krishna’s question to Nanda, which is the part children most often miss.

Our live storytelling and Indian culture classes tell the stories of Krishna’s childhood in depth, with discussion and plenty of questions. If you would like your child to learn with a mentor, enquire about our classes through the Book a Class page.