(“mountain-lifter”) A
young and heroic avatar of the deity Krishna in Hindu mythology.
Krishna witnesses the village elders making annual gifts to
Indra, the god of the storm, as a small boy, according to the narrative.
Krishna persuades the elders that instead of giving gifts to
Indra, who is too far away in heaven to be of any use to them, they should
instead make offerings to Mount Govardhan.
Because Krishna's followers (bhakta) see this mountain as
another incarnation of Krishna, he is really urging the elders to give gifts to
him.
When Indra discovers what has transpired, he becomes enraged
and summons a terrible storm that threatens to sweep the hamlet away and wipe
off all of its residents.
To safeguard the peasants and their animals from damage,
Krishna raises Mount Govardhan and holds it like an umbrella over their heads,
shielding them from the rain.
Indra concedes defeat after seven days, and Krishna emerges
as the village's hero.
The elder Vedic deities are gradually being eclipsed in this
narrative.
Krishna as Giridhara is a popular god in Rajasthan, and is
especially revered as the "selected deity" (ishtadevata) of
poet-saint Mirabai.
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