Giridhara

(“mountain-lifter”) In Hindu mythology,
a youthful and heroic form of the god
Krishna. According to the story, as a
young man Krishna observes that the
village elders make yearly offerings to
Indra, the god of the storm. After some
persuasion, Krishna manages to convince the elders that instead of making
offerings to Indra, who is too far off in
heaven to do them any good, they
should offer them instead to Mount
Govardhan. This mountain looms over
their village as a symbol of their prosperity, and since Krishna’s devotees
(bhakta) consider this mountain to be
another form of Krishna, he is actually
persuading the elders to make offerings
to him. Indra is furious when he discovers what has happened, and unleashes a
violent storm that threatens to wash
away the village and destroy all the
inhabitants. To protect the villagers and
their cattle from harm, Krishna lifts up
Mount Govardhan, and holds it over
their heads as an umbrella to protect
them from the rain. After seven days,
Indra admits defeat, and Krishna
emerges as the hero of the village. This
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Giridhara
Jain temple in Girnar. Settled atop a hill, Girnar is an ancient site
that is sacred to both Hindu and Jain religious communities.
story illustrates the gradual eclipse
of the older Vedic deities. The figure
of Krishna as Giridhara is widely
worshiped in Rajasthan and is particularly noteworthy as the “chosen deity”
(ishtadevata) of the poet-saint Mirabai.