According to the Bhagavata Purana, every year in Gokul there was a tradition. The villagers would perform a grand puja (sacred offering ceremony) for Indra, the god of rain. Nanda Baba and the other villagers would prepare a large feast and offer it to Indra. This had gone on for many years.
One time, Krishna asked Nanda Baba, 'Baba, why do we do this puja?' Nanda Baba said, 'Indra sends us the rains. That is why.' Krishna said, 'Baba, the rains we receive come because of Govardhan Hill. Its slopes feed the grass on which our cows graze. Let us offer puja to Govardhan.'
Nanda Baba agreed. The people of Gokul went to Govardhan Hill and performed their puja there. A great feast was prepared. Everyone came together and circled the hill with joyful hearts.
Indra was not pleased. The Bhagavata Purana tells us that Indra grew angry. He commanded the storm clouds to gather. Dark clouds piled on top of each other. Lightning cracked. Fierce winds blew. A torrent of rain poured down — the kind that would not stop.
Gokul began to flood. The cows shivered. The children were frightened. Nanda Baba and Yashoda were alarmed. Everyone ran to Krishna. 'Kanhaiya, what will become of us?'
Krishna smiled. He looked at Govardhan Hill. Then he placed his little finger — just his smallest finger — under the hill and lifted it. The entire hill rose into the air like a vast umbrella.
According to the Bhagavata Purana, Krishna stood there for seven days and seven nights, holding the hill aloft. All of Gokul took shelter beneath it — people, cows, children, the elderly — everyone safe and dry.
Indra's rain poured and poured. But not a single drop fell on Gokul. On the seventh day, Indra finally stopped. The sky cleared. The sun came out.
Krishna gently set the hill back down. The people of Gokul came running to him. Yashoda held him close. Nanda Baba's eyes filled with tears. The cows gathered around Krishna and walked in circles around him.
The Bhagavata Purana tells us that Indra himself came to Krishna afterward. He bowed his head. 'I was wrong,' he said. Krishna forgave Indra too. From that day, the tradition of Govardhan Puja was established in Gokul — a tradition still observed during the month of Kartik.