page_title: Govardhana sila
hierarchical_section_title: Govardhana sila
caption_attribution_description: English: Krishna raising Mount Govardhan, an illustration from the Bhagavata Purana manuscript,ca 1640. (Cropped version from an image with partially fragmented borders) Opaque watercolour on paper. Bundi, Rajasthan. India.
context_page_description: A Govardhana Shila is rock from the Govardhan Hill in Braj. Govardhan Hill holds a unique position in Hindu scriptures related to Krishna, the land called Vrij where He was born. Known as Govardhan or Giriraj and being the sacred center of Braj, it is identified as a natural form of Krishna. Indian art overwhelmingly prefers the iconic image, but some aniconism does occur in folk worship, early Buddhism, Shiva's Banalinga, and Vishnu's Saligrama Sila. They have solar significance, and their use in worship predates the Hindu period in India. The stone is usually brown in color.
  Govardhan, a very famous place of Hindu pilgrimage, is located 26 km west of Mathura on the state highway to Deeg. Govardhan is located on a narrow sandstone hill known as Giriraj which is about 8 km in length.
  When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did parikrama of Govardhana Hill while visiting Vrindavana in 1515 AD, he did not walk on the hill because he considered Govardhana as non-different from Lord Krishna. Therefore, traditionally Vaishnavas don’t step on Govardhan hill.
context_section_description: A Govardhana Shila  is rock from the Govardhan Hill in Braj. Govardhan Hill holds a unique position in Hindu scriptures related to Krishna, the land called Vrij where He was born. Known as Govardhan or Giriraj and being the sacred center of Braj, it is identified as a natural form of Krishna. Indian art overwhelmingly prefers the iconic image, but some aniconism does occur in folk worship, early Buddhism, Shiva's Banalinga, and Vishnu's Saligrama Sila (murthi)). They have solar significance, and their use in worship predates the Hindu period in India. The stone is usually brown in color.
  Govardhan, a very famous place of Hindu pilgrimage, is located 26 km west of Mathura (154 km from New Delhi) on the state highway to Deeg. Govardhan is located on a narrow sandstone hill known as Giriraj which is about 8 km in length.
  When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu did parikrama (circumambulation) of  Govardhana Hill while visiting Vrindavana in 1515 AD,  he did not walk on the hill because he considered Govardhana as non-different from Lord Krishna. Therefore, traditionally Vaishnavas don’t step on Govardhan hill.
caption: An Image of Krishna raising Mount Govardhan from manuscript,ca 1640 of the Bhagavata Purana
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