Sri Narada said: O king, Vrndavana forest and Govardhana Hill, which is the crown of Goloka, are both worshiped as the best of holy places. Noble Govardhana Hill is dear to Lord Krsna. It is the Supreme Personality of Godhead's parasol. It protects the cows, gopas and gopis. What holy place is better than Govardhana Hill?
Lord Krsna, the master of all the worlds, mocked the Indra-yajna.
Sri Krsna is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, greater than the greatest, the master of Goloka, the ruler of countless universes.
O king of Mithila, even the demigod Brahma cannot properly glorify Govardhana Hill, where Lord Krsna eternally plays with the gopa boys,...
... where are the Manasa-ganga, which destroys a flood of the greatest sins, pure Govinda-kunda, beautiful Candra-sarovara,...
... Radha-kunda, Syama-kunda, Lalita-kunda, Gopala-kunda and Kusuma-sarovara.
By the touch of Sri Krsna's crown a certain stone was marked with the sign of a crown. Anyone who sees that stone becomes the crown of the Supreme Lord.
Even today on Govardhana Hill is a sacred stone marked with pictures originally drawn by Lord Krsna and now named Citra-sila (the picture stone).
When Krsna was intently playing with the boys, He played musical rhythms on a certain stone. That stone, named vadani-sila (the musical stone), destroys the greatest sins.
The place where Krsnacandra played ball-games with the boys is called kanduka-ksetra (the ballgame-field).
A person who sees the place Indra-pada on Govardhana Hill, bows down at the place Brahma-pada or rolls about in the dust of these places, attains the abode of Lord Visnu.
The place on Govardhana Hill where Lord Krsna stole the gopas turbans is called Ausnisa-tirtha. It removes the greatest sins.
One day, hearing tinkling anklets as the gopis walked nearby on their way to sell yogurt, Krsna, who is more charming than Kamadeva, stopped them on the path.
Holding a flute and a stick and going ahead of the gopas, Krsna confronted the gopis on the path and demanded, "You must pay a toll to Me."
The gopis said: You are crooked. You and Your gopa boys now block our path. You are greedy after yogurt. We will see to it that You, Your mother and Your father are all locked up in Kamsa's prison.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: I will kill ferocious Kamsa and all his friends. That was My solemn vow.
Every day I will take the cows from Mathura to Govardhana Hill.
Sri Narada said: After speaking these words, Krsna and the boys took the jars of yogurt and joyfully placed them on the ground.
Saying " Krsna is a bold, fearless, ferocious and talkative hero here in the secluded forest, but in the city, surrounded by many men, He is only a weakling. We will certainly tell Nanda and Yasoda what He has done," the smiling gopis went to their homes.
Then, making cups of nipa and palasa leaves, Krsna and the boys ate the yogurt and picchala.
O king of kings, that very sacred place, where the trees leaves became cups, is called Drona-tirtha.
A person who at this place gives yogurt in charity, drinks yogurt from a leaf-cup and then bows down to offer his respectful obeisances, never falls from Goloka.
A place where Krsna and the boys played games of closing their eyes and hiding is called laukika-tirtha. It destroys all sins.
Simply by seeing Kadamba-khanda-tirtha, where Krsna enjoyed many pastimes, a person attains a form like that of Lord Narayana Himself.
O king of Mithila, the place on Govardhana Hill where Radha was decorated during the rasa dance is called Srngara-mandala (the decoration place).
O king, the form Lord Krsna showed as He lifted Govardhana Hill is still present at Srngara-mandala.
O king, 4,108 years after the beginning of Kali-yuga, as everyone watches, Lord Krsna will emerge from a cave on Govardhana Hill and reveal His transcendental form at Srngara-mandala.
O king, the saintly devotees will call this form of the Lord Srinatha. He will always enjoy pastimes on Govardhana Hill.
O king of Mithila, the people in Kali-yuga who with their eyes see this form of the Lord will attain all spiritual success.
On the four corners of Govardhana Hill are the forms of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Ranganatha, Lord Dvarakanatha and Lord Badrinatha.
Srinatha is in the middle of Govardhana Hill. O king, these five forms of the lord are manifested in sacred Bharata-varsa.
These four Deities are four pillars in the temple of eternal religion. They are determined to protect Their devotees from all troubles. A person who sees Them attains a transcendental form like that of Lord Narayana Himself.
An intelligent person who visits the places of these Deities but does not see the Lord there does not attain the real result of his visit.
A person who sees Lord Srinatha attains the result of seeing all four Deities on Govardhana Hill.
O king of Mithila, a sinner who bows down before the footprints of Airavata and Surabhi on Govardhana Hill goes to Vaikuntha.
A person who sees the handprint and footprint of Sri Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and bows down to offer respects to them, goes to Lord Krsna's transcendental abode.
Part Two
"O best of brahmanas, by visiting Govardhana Hill one attains a pious result ten million times greater than all those pious deeds together."
Sri Narada said: This is the most ancient history of Goloka. When one hears it, all his sins are destroyed.
One day, in order to repay the debt he owed the sages and ancestors, a certain brahmana named Vijaya went to Mathura, the holy place that removes all sins.
O king of Mithila, after performing his religious duties, he went to Govardhana Hill and took one of the stones there.
Going in a leisurely way from forest to forest, he finally left the circle of Vraja. At that moment he saw a horrible raksasa monster approaching.
The monster had three heads, three chests, six arms, six legs, three hands, huge lips, and a huge nose. His hands were raised in the air.
His seven-hands-long tongue moved to and fro, the hairs of his body were like a tangle of thorns, his eyes were red, and he had long, curved, frightening fangs.
O king, wishing to eat him, the snorting monster approached the brahmana.
With his Govardhana-stone the brahmana struck the monster. Hit by the Govardhana-stone, the monster gave up his body.
Suddenly he transformed into a handsome dark person with large lotus-petal eyes, dressed in yellow garments, garlanded with forest flowers, wearing a crown and earrings, holding a flute and stick, glorious as another Kamadeva, and his features like those of Lord Krsna, with folded hands he bowed before the brahmana again and again.
The liberated soul said: O best of brahmanas, you earnestly work for the salvation of others. O noble-hearted one, you have rescued me from a monster's life.
Good fortune has come to me simply by the touch of this stone. No one but you could have delivered me.
The Brahmana said: I am astonished by your words. I have no power to deliver you. I don't know how, simply by a stone's touch, this has happened. O saintly one, please tell me how this happened.
The liberated soul said: Glorious Govardhana Hill, the king of mountains, is the person form of Lord Krsna. Simply by seeing it, a person attains the supreme goal of life.
O Brahmana, the same result one attains by performing austerities for five thousand years on Mound Kedara is attained in a single moment on Govardhana Hill.
By staying for one month on Govardhana Hill one attains a pious result many millions of times greater than the result of giving in charity a bhara of gold in the Malaya Hills.
Even though he has committed hundreds of sins, a person who on Mount Mangala gives gold in charity attains a spiritual form like Lord Visnu's.
That same result is attained simply by seeing Govardhana Hill. No other holy place is as sacred as Govardhana Hill.
O Brahmana, simply by visiting Govardhana Hill one attains piety a hundred thousand times greater than the piety he would attain if on the sacred mountains Rsabha, Kutaka, and Kolaka he had worshiped many brahmanas and given in charity ten million cows with golden horns.
By going on pilgrimage to Govardhana Hill one attains piety ten million times greater than the piety he would attain by going on pilgrimage to Rsyamuka or Devagiri. There never was, nor will there ever be a holy place equal to Govardhana Hill.
By bathing every day for ten years in Vidyadhara-kunda on Sri Saila, one attains the result of a hundred yajnas. By once bathing in Puccha-kunda on Govardhana Hill one attains the result of ten million yajnas. Of this there is no doubt.
A person who performs an asvamedha-yajna on the mountains Venkata, Varidhara, Mahendra, or Vindhya, attains the post of King Indra. A person who performs an asvamedha-yajna on Govardhana Hill and gives proper daksina goes beyond the realm of Indra and attains the abode of Lord Visnu.
O best of brahmanas, bathing in sacred rivers, giving charity, performing austerities, and performing pious deeds, all these performed during Sri Rama-navami on Mount Citrakua, during the third day of Visakha on Prariyatra, during the full moon on Mount Kukura, during Dvadasi on Mount Nila, or during Saptami at Indrakila bring a great pious result. That pious result is multiplied ten million times by visiting Bharata-varsa. It is multiplied unlimited times by visiting Govardhana Hill.
By giving charity, performing austerities, bathing in sacred rivers, chanting sacred mantras, or worshiping the brahmanas and the Supreme Personality of Godhead at the Godavari, Mount Simha, Mayapuri, Kumbhaga, Puskara, Pusyanaksatra, Kuruksetra, Ravi-graha, Candra-graha, Kasi, Phalguna, Naimisa, Ekadasi, Sukara, Kartiki, Ganamuktada, Janmastami, Madhupuri, Khandava, Dvadasi, Kartiki, Purnima, Vatesvara-maha-vata, Makararka, Prayaga, Barhismati, Vaidhrti, Ayodhya-sarayu-tira, Sri Rama-navami-dina, Siva-caturdasi, Vaijanatha-subha-vana, Darsa, Soma-vara, Ganga-sagara-sangama, Dasami, Setubandha, Sri Ranga, or Saptami-dina, one attains a great pious result. O best of brahmanas, by visiting Govardhana Hill one attains a pious result ten million times greater than all those pious deeds together.
One who, thinking of Lord Krsna, bathes in sacred Govinda-kunda, attains a transcendental form like Lord Krsna's. O king of Mithila, of this there is no doubt.
Neither a thousand asvamedha-yajnas nor a hundred rajasuya-yajnas are equal to visiting Manasa-ganga on Govardhana Hill.
O brahmana, you have directly seen and touched Govardhana Hill. You have bathed in its sacred waters. In this world no one is more fortunate than you.
If you don't believe my words, consider the story of the great sinner who, because he was touched by a Govardhana-stone, attained a transcendental form like Lord Krsna's.
