Nilanjana retells the story of how Krishna was crowned as Govinda, in the weekly column, exclusively for Different Truths.

Sukha moved on to the next story, “After all the cowherds had moved away, Krishna placed the Govardhana back in place. Indra was ashamed of his arrogance and hesitantly approached Krishna. Kamdhenu, the divine cow accompanied him. An apologetic Indra asked Krishna for forgiveness. He had realised his arrogance and his vanity in demanding to be worshipped. After all, does worship not naturally follow devotion? Can devotion be demanded, by force or bribe? Is it not voluntary, a cry from the soul? Who one is devoted to is solely a matter of choice and love; it cannot be forced by anybody in any pretext! Indra realised his folly; he realised that he cannot force people to worship him.

“Krishna assured Indra that he is very dear to him since Indra is his brother. But this particular incident was to bring Indra back to the self. The glitz and glamour of power had so blinded Indra that he had forgotten himself. Krishna also revealed that when a devotee gets blinded by the outer world, more often than not he lands in adversity. That is how he comes back to the self. This is again a divine plan!

“Kamdhenu spoke to Krishna, ‘It is our very good fortune that you are born as a cowherd and you look after us. You protect my children; I could not have asked for anything more. To me, you are the lord of lords. Brahma has given me the permission to crown you as our Lord.’

“Kamdhenu then poured the water that she had especially got from heavens for this purpose. She mixed this water with her milk. Indra asked Airavata the elephant (his carrier) to fetch water from river Mandakini that flows in heaven for the same ceremony. Indra gave the coronation bath to Krishna and he was crowned Govinda, the one who protects the entire world. The celestials, who were a witness to this ceremony were delighted and celebrated with divine songs and dance.  All the various worlds were submerged in happiness. The joy enveloped all humans too, but none could fathom why they suddenly felt so happy. Animals resonated the same joy and even natural enemies behaved like friends, albeit for a short while.

“Once the coronation was complete, Indra took leave of Krishna and went back to his regular duties.  Kamdhenu and other celestials went back with him.

“Krishna went back to his role as a mortal pretending that nothing has happened.”

Parikshit was completely soaked in this story…

 [To be continued]

Footnote: Srimad Bhagavatam is often called the Bhagavad Purana. Authored by Ved Vyasa, the stories are about the various avatars(incarnations) of Lord Vishnu, also known as Narayana. These stories are narrated by Ved Vyasa’s son Sukhadeva to King Parikshit.

©Nilanjana Dey

Photos from the Internet

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Nilanjana Dey

A story-teller at heart, Nilanjana Dey is on a journey to experiment with fiction and poetry. Her first novel, largely aimed towards children, is titled ‘The Adventures of Puti – The Cheese Trail’. Her poems have been published at various prestigious portals. An alumni of English Literature from Jadavpur University (Kolkata), she is a marketing and communication professional based in Mumbai. She volunteers with a Mumbai based NGO working with the marginalised sections of the society.

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