Quality Assurance Testing

By krishnasmercy on November 24, 2025 • ( 0 )

“O sober Vidura, King Indra, his honor having been insulted, poured water incessantly on Vrindavana, and thus the inhabitants of Vraja, the land of cows, were greatly distressed. But the compassionate Lord Krishna saved them from danger with His pastime umbrella, the Govardhana Hill.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 3.2.33)

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वर्षतीन्द्रे व्रज: कोपाद्भग्नमानेऽतिविह्वल:
गोत्रलीलातपत्रेण त्रातो भद्रानुगृह्णता

varṣatīndre vrajaḥ kopād
bhagnamāne ’tivihvalaḥ
gotra-līlātapatreṇa
trāto bhadrānugṛhṇatā

“You tend to notice this more in the social media age. There is the longstanding adage that the written word remains. This is a sort of warning. Be careful creating a permanent record of your feelings, of your opinions, of your reflections on others. This is because at the moment you might think a certain way, only to completely change your mind in the future. Life is an experience of constant learning, after all. Children were once spoiled. They didn’t know the value of money. They caused trouble in school, only to one day become a leader within that school.

“If you make a major mistake, people will never let you hear the end of it. A reputation forever sullied. No amount of groveling, apologizing, and self-shaming will make people forget. This is because they can point to that original mistake whenever they want. They know about it. Everyone knows about it. The internet is forever. What can be done?

“In the case of the king of heaven, there is the famous incident of his wrath gone wrong. He attacked innocent people. He attacked people who were previously supporters. In fact, they had not gone anywhere. They merely decided to worship a nearby hill for one particular year. Indra retaliated with devastating rain powerful enough to wash away an entire area. It was not even rainy season; the attack was completely unexpected.

“The history is documented in sacred texts like Bhagavata Purana and Vishnu Purana. This means that there is a permanent record. Does this not present an embarrassing situation for someone who would prefer not to be embarrassed? Someone who would like to be respected, as they are still in a respectable position. They were forgiven by the person whose opinion matters most. Shri Krishna holds no grudge. There is no lasting enmity. It is like the incident never happened, but the record is still there. Do you see what I am saying? How does someone move on from the shame of having done something so horrible?”

People familiar with the world of software development know that bringing a new product to market is not easy. Especially if the source is a large and respectable organization, even a simple upgrade might require months of planning, budgeting, development, and progress towards expected delivery. There are checks to ensure that everything works as planned. There are comparisons against existing processes, to see that unexpected errors will not be introduced. Indeed, what you are planning to do should not interfere with what already takes place without issue.

To that end, there is something known as quality assurance testing. There might be an entire division within the corporation established to handle such a task. Each person is a tester, in their own right. Their goal is to break the system. Find holes. Expose vulnerabilities. The intent is not necessarily malicious. They just want to catch the issues before they get raised as bugs, later on, after release to production.

The better the testing, the better the application. Passing through a rigorous review speaks well for the people making the code changes. The application gets a seal of approval. There is no corruption in this case. No one is necessarily taking the word of the developers. The testers are completely isolated from the development experience. They are not biased. If anything, they are negatively inclined, at least temporarily, towards the changes. They are skeptical of the validity of the application.

In this sense, Indra can be considered the greatest quality assurance engineer. Govardhana-puja was something new. It happened on the spot. Something like the flash mobs of today, but without prior coordination. There were no recording devices set to capture a moment falsely presented as spontaneous. Rather, it was a young child of bluish complexion who asked a few innocent questions. His inquiry is what set the stage for an alternate celebration, for shifting the preparations intended for Indra towards the nearby hill known as Govardhana.

कथ्यतां मे पित: कोऽयं सम्भ्रमो व उपागत:
किं फलं कस्य वोद्देश: केन वा साध्यते मख:

kathyatāṁ me pitaḥ ko ’yaṁ
sambhramo va upāgataḥ
kiṁ phalaṁ kasya voddeśaḥ
kena vā sādhyate makhaḥ

“My dear father, I am very respectfully and humbly inquiring. What is this arrangement? Why you are busy in making some sacrificial ceremony, what is the reason, and what is the result? For whose benefit is it and by what means will it be accomplished?” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.24.3)

If Vedic culture could be described in one word, it would be appreciation. The advice is to appreciate, from beginning to end. From when you are a child to when you are on your last days. Appreciate your parents. Appreciate the spiritual guide. Love the animal that gives you milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, and fuel. Recognize the sacrifice and efforts of the protector class, of the business class, and of the intelligent leaders of society. Pay homage to those who came before you. Acknowledge the vital role material nature plays in the further continuation of life itself.

कर्म ब्रह्मोद्भ‍वं विद्धि ब्रह्माक्षरसमुद्भ‍वम्
तस्मात्सर्वगतं ब्रह्म नित्यं यज्ञे प्रतिष्ठितम्

karma brahmodbhavaṁ viddhi
brahmākṣara-samudbhavam
tasmāt sarva-gataṁ brahma
nityaṁ yajñe pratiṣṭhitam

“Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Consequently the all-pervading Transcendence is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.15)

The new worship aligned with the core values of the culture. There was appreciation, but this time towards a hill. There was sufficient justification for showing that appreciation. Govardhana was dear to the cows. The cows were dear to the community. If the cows were happy, then everyone prospered. Govardhana contributed to that prosperity. No real harm, then, in showing some appreciation.

Still, it was a new kind of worship. The hill itself later confirmed that everything went well. The people should make a tradition of it. They should follow what is known as Govardhana-puja. Still, what better way to test the validity of that decision than to introduce danger? It was Krishna’s recommendation, after all. He should show that His recommendation for a specific form of dharma should not bring collateral damage. In other words, Govardhana-puja should not have any leaks. It should not have any deficiencies.

Indra unintentionally thought to highlight the greatest deficiency, in protection against devastating rain. The response from Krishna was swift. It was no problem. Govardhana would serve as the world’s largest umbrella. It symbolically gave protection in the worship, through the offering made during the puja. It later literally gave protection in serving as the pastime umbrella of the one whose pastimes are forever cherished. That hill then became forever associated with that son of Nanda, who was the beloved of the community of Gokula-Vrindavana.