Shloka 36
शरद्वर्णनं, योगोपमा, तथा गोवर्धन-यज्ञप्रवर्तनम्
गिरियज्ञस् त्व् अयं तस्माद् गोयज्ञश् च प्रवर्त्यताम् किम् अस्माकं महेन्द्रेण गावः शैलाश् च देवताः
giriyajñas tv ayaṃ tasmād goyajñaś ca pravartyatām kim asmākaṃ mahendreṇa gāvaḥ śailāś ca devatāḥ
“Therefore let this be a sacrifice to the mountain, and let the worship of the cows be set in motion as well. What need have we of Mahendra (Indra)? For cows and mountains themselves are our divinities.”
Sri Krishna (speaking to Nanda and the Vraja community)
Speaker: Parasara
Topic: Institution of Govardhana (giri) and cow (go) worship in Vraja and its theological rationale.
Teaching: Devotional
Quality: decisive, reformative
Avatara: Krishna
Purpose: Krishna redirects the Vraja community from Indra’s cult to Govardhana and cow-veneration, setting the stage for Indra’s defeat of pride and Krishna’s protection of Vraja.
Leela: Dharma-upadesa
Dharma Restored: Proper object of reverence and protection of Vraja’s livelihood—cows, land, and Govardhana—over fear-based deva-propitiation.
Concept: Worship should be offered to the immediate dharmic supports that sustain life—here, cows and Govardhana—under Krishna’s guidance, rather than to prideful intermediaries.
Vedantic Theme: Dharma
Application: Let devotion express itself as gratitude and service to what sustains life (food systems, animals, land, community), while keeping God as the ultimate refuge beyond fear.
Vishishtadvaita: Krishna sanctifies ‘worldly’ supports as rightful recipients of reverence within the Lord’s economy—immanence without denying transcendence.
Vishnu Form: Krishna
Bhakti Type: Vatsalya
FAQs
This verse frames Govardhana worship as a dharmic, community-rooted yajña that shifts dependence away from Indra and toward Krishna’s higher sovereignty expressed through nature and right conduct.
He argues that for the people of Vraja, cows and mountains are the immediate supports of life and livelihood; honoring them is appropriate, and it also reveals that Devas like Indra are not ultimate—worship is to be aligned with true dependence and higher divinity.
Indra is shown as a limited cosmic administrator, while Krishna (Vishnu) stands as the Supreme Reality who can reorder the focus of yajña, demonstrating that all deities and powers ultimately rest in him.