SB 10.24.38

The cowherds were inspired by Vāsudeva, the superintendant of all beings. This indicates that they surpassed the directives given and thus satisfied the soul of all beings. They performed the sacrifice properly (yathā). Because they could not give up association with Kṛṣṇa because of the arousal of great affection, they returned with him to Vraja which was situated a little over a krośa from Rādhā-kuṇḍa on the northeast corner of Govardhana. By citing karmavāda to negate worship of devatās, Kṛṣṇa established the predominance of action. By previous impressions one develops the tendency to perform actions. Thus being fixed in actions is based on the root of actions, impressions. Then inspired by antaryāmī according to the impressions, a person performs actions. Thus the power of action alone is rejected. By one’s nature in the guṇas such as sattva one can accomplish livelihood. Since there is no effort in attaining one’s objectives, action should never be omitted. It was stated that one must worship one’s means of livelihood which provides sustenance and maintenance. Thus, predominance of karma was emphasized. And the purpose of those unlimited actions is one’s bhakti. The main characteristic of the excellence of bhakti is worship of the devotee. Thus Govardhana should be worshipped. That is the conclusion. The intention of Kṛṣṇa was as follows. I who am the Supreme Lord have taken the form of their son. Who else is their Lord and who are these devatās? Their inspiration for action is simply their nature filled with prema for me. Non-acceptance of devatās in my human pastimes will bring them closer to me but in order to protect the human pastimes I am not eager to promote this. Thus I will accomplish my purpose by making them understand through the teachings of atheistic Mīmāṁsā-sāṅkhya-vāda. This thinking should be understood in other places as well where Kṛṣṇa preaches other philosophies. Thus end the purports of the humble servants of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda to the Tenth Canto, Twenty-fourth Chapter, of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, entitled "Worshiping Govardhana Hill." 10.25: Lord Kṛṣṇa Lifts Govardhana Hill verses: Summary, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 Chapter Summary This chapter describes how Lord Indra was overcome by anger when the residents of Vraja canceled his sacrifice, how he tried to punish them by sending forth a devastating rainfall to Vṛndāvana, and how Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa protected Gokula by lifting Govardhana Hill and for seven days using it as an umbrella to ward off the rain. Indra, angered at the disruption of the sacrifice meant for him and falsely presuming himself the supreme controller, said, "People often give up the pursuit of transcendental knowledge-the means for self-realization-and imagine that they can cross over the ocean of material existence by mundane fruitive sacrifices. Similarly, these cowherd men have become intoxicated by pride and have offended me by taking shelter of an ignorant, ordinary child-Kṛṣṇa." To remove this supposed pride of the residents of Vraja, Indra sent the clouds known as Sāṁvartaka, whose function is to facilitate the destruction of the world. He sent them to harass the Vrajavāsīs with downpours of rain and hail. The cowherd community was very disturbed by this and approached Kṛṣṇa for shelter. Understanding that this trouble was the work of Indra, Kṛṣṇa decided to smash to pieces Indra's false prestige, and thus He lifted Govardhana Hill with one hand. He then invited the entire cowherd community to take shelter in the dry space beneath the mountain. For seven successive days He held up the hill, until Indra finally understood Kṛṣṇa's mystic power and ordered the clouds to withdraw. When the cowherd villagers emerged from beneath the mountain, Kṛṣṇa put Govardhana Hill back in its proper place. The cowherds were in ecstasy, showing loving symptoms such as flowing tears and bodily hairs standing on end. They embraced Kṛṣṇa and offered Him benedictions according to their respective positions, while the demigods in heaven rained down flowers and sang the Lord's praises.