White snow-clad mountains have always been seen as the abode of gods. They have been, and continue to be, popular places of pilgrimage. It is said, in the olden times, mountains could move, but Indra cut off the wings (clouds) of the hills, and made the earth firm, so the mountains can no longer move.
Govardhana, in present-day Uttar Pradesh, is perhaps the most famous for its divinity because of its association with Sri Krishna. A young Krishna, along with his friends and elder brother Balarama, used to graze cows and roam around in the groves and pastures of Govardhana. When Indra got angry and caused a deluge, Krishna raised the Govardhana on his finger so that the people and cattle of Braj could move underneath and keep themselves dry. On Guru Poornima following Diwali, devotees gather to walk a 21-km parikrama (circumambulation).
There are seven important mountain chains known as Kulaparvatas that are considered the doors of heaven. These are Mahendra (Eastern Ghats in Odisha), Malaya, Sahya (Sahyadri or Western Ghats), Suktimat (Northern Sahyadri), Rikshavat (Satpura), Vindhya, and Pariyatra (Aravali). In the Mahabharata, Arjuna has been called the Eighth Parvata.
Vindhya got to know that the only mountain the Sun circumambulates is Mount Meru. It decided to become taller than Meru and grew so much that it obstructed the sunlight. Gods requested Meru to stop growing, but it did not listen. The gods then requested Vindhya’s guru, Sage Agastya, for help. Agastya went to Vindhya and asked it to bow down, so that he could cross over to the south. He also asked it to stay bowed till he returned. Vindhya agreed. Agastya crossed over to the south, never to return. Mount Mahendra is famous for being the place where the immortal Parshurama is doing penance, which will continue till the end of Kaliyuga.
Himavata is Shiva’s father-in-law, being the father of Parvati, whose name means daughter of parvata (mountain). He is also the father of Mount Abu. Mount Kailash, in modern-day Tibet, is said to be the abode of Lord Shiva and Parvati. Mount Mandara was used as a churning rod during Samudra Manthan. It is mentioned in Kalidasa’s Kumarasambhava that there are footsteps of Vishnu on the slopes of Mandara. Mount Meru is said to lie at the centre of the earth, with the Sun and other stars revolving around it. In Jainism, it is believed that after the birth of each Tirthankara, they are taken by Indra to Meru to be given their first ceremonial bath. Besides the devas, other divine beings also live on mountains. Rakshasas live on Himavata, nagas and gandharvas on Nishadha, guhyakas on Kailasha, and asuras on Sveta. Thus, mountains have a close association with divinity.