Study a Verse

Attraction and threat → Joy and trust. The pastoral world becomes the setting for protection and love.

Chapters 20–28 of Canto 10: Forest seasons, flute and Govardhana. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Chapter 25: Lord Kṛṣṇa Lifts Govardhana Hill

From the chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Indra, angered at the disruption of the sacrifice meant for him and falsely presuming himself the supreme controller, said, “People often give up the pursuit of transcendental knowledge — the means for self-realization — and imagine that they can cross over the ocean of material existence by mundane fruitive sacrifices. Similarly, these cowherd men have become intoxicated by pride and have offended me by taking shelter of an ignorant, ordinary child — Kṛṣṇa.”