When was Janmashtami?
Aug 31, 2024
Janmashtami, one of the most fervorous festivals of India is celebrated with great grandeur and pomp across the world. This pious day is observed to commemorate the birth of Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in ‘Dwapar Yuga’. According to the ‘Puranas’, Lord Krishna was born on the ‘Ashtami Tithi’ (eighth day) of the ‘Krishna Paksha’ or the dark half in the month of ‘Bhadrapada’ in the Hindu calendar. This grand festival is also known as Krishnashtami, Gokulashtami, Saatam Aatham, Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti, and Sree Jayanti.
Janmashtami or Krishna Janmashtami is the celebration of Lord Krishna’s birthday. People celebrate this festival with great enthusiasm in India as well as in the neighboring countries. People decorate their homes and buy new clothes for the Radha-Krishna deities in their homes. While some people read the Hare Krishna mantra on this occasion, some read the story of Krishna’s advent to Earth from the Srimad Bhagavatam. A midnight arati is commonplace among most families in India. Celebrations of Janmashtami are very grand in India and some temples even prepare a staggering 108 dishes on this occasion!
The joyous spirit of Janmashtami is escalated with exchanging delightful presentations and warm wishes. On this auspicious day, people visit temples or observe the puja of ‘ Bhagwan Krishna’ in their houses. Be a part of this grand spiritual festival with exquisite puja accessories and the holy statuette of ‘Bal Gopal’ for your family and friends. Fruits and sweets are offered to the Lord as ‘Bhog’ on this occasion. A delightful assortment of Indian sweets is the most befitting gift for this religious observance.
In a land where Gods have a place in people’s daily life, it is no wonder that the deities get treated as members of the family! Lord Krishna is one of the most widely worshipped deities who gets a similar treatment! As such, His birth is celebrated all over India! Janmashtami, as the day is known, celebrates the miraculous birth of Lord Krishna. The divine birth of Lord Krishna’s birth was followed by His escape from the Kansa's prison to the village of Gokul. The stories not only fascinate children but also have something in store for grown-ups! On this day, stories are told, and children dress up in costumes and enact those stories. Pots of milk are hung from tall poles in the streets, and men form human pyramids to reach and break the pots. This is similar to the games that Lord Krishna played with his friends to steal butter!
On this day Balgopal was born to Vasudev and Devaki on a stormy and windy night, but to save his life from his uncle King Kansa, Vasudev handed him to his friend Nand and wife Yashoda. Krishna grew up in Gokul and was a very naughty kid as he use to steal and eat buttermilk a lot. In Mathura and Vrindavan where Lord Krishna spent most of his life, the celebrations on Janmashtami are a sight to behold. Krishna is offered his favorite buttermilk and sweets, the celebration is continued with devotional songs, dance, aarti, and rocking the cradle of Balgopal. All this celebration takes place at midnight as he was born at that time, and Sri Krishna is said to be the 8th avatar of Lord Vishnu.
The day Lord Krishna was born is celebrated as Janmashtami, and it is said that he was born at midnight when it was raining very heavily. His birth parents Vasudev and Devaki were imprisoned by his maternal uncle King Kansa who killed all their children as it was predicted that one of their children will be his cause of death. But right after Krishna was born his father, Vasudev with lots of difficulties took him to his friend, Nanda, and his wife Yashoda in Vrindavan where Krishna grew up. This is the significance of the day when Krishna was born and to date, it is celebrated with equal enthusiasm and devotion. On this day Lord Krishna’s birthday is celebrated by offering butter milk and sweets to him. At midnight “Krishna Abhisek” is done with milk, ghee, and water and then Lord Krishna is offered bhog.
The holy festival of Janmashtami marks the birth anniversary of the Hindu god - Krishna. This auspicious festival is also known as Gokulashtami and Sreekrishna Jayanthi. Janmashtami is celebrated on the 8th day of the Krishna paksha (waning moon) of the Hindu month of Bhadra. Unlike most Hindu festivals, Janmashtami celebrations start at midnight. The women of most Hindu households beat metal plates with rolling pins and ladles making a clanging sound just as the clock strikes 12. It is also at this time that many who fast on the preceding day, break it with a diet of fruits and milk products. Across the country, this festival is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm. One of the most iconic celebratory rituals of Janmashtami is breaking the ‘dahi-handi’. It is a popular custom mainly in Maharashtra. For this, the participants form a human pyramid to break a pot full of curd hanging from a string at a considerable height.
Janmashtami commemorates the earthly appearance of Lord Krishna. This is one of the biggest religious festivals in the world. It is celebrated by nine hundred and thirty million people around the world--and two million in the US alone. This is an annual celebration of the birth of the eighth avatar of Vishnu. Krishna Janmashtami is followed by the festival Nandotsav, which celebrates the occasion when Nanda Baba distributed gifts to the community in honor of the birth. Thus on Janmashtami send online gifts to India to your loved ones to honor the great festival.
Janmashtami is celebrated in an extravagant manner in all parts of our country. Mathura, the birthplace of Sri Krishna and Vrindavan, the abode of ‘Natkhat Bal Gopal’ see millions of religious people visiting the pious land of ‘Krishna Janmabhoomi’. In Maharashtra, people take part in ‘Dahi Handi’ to celebrate the playful nature of Lord Krishna. In ‘Dahi Handi’, a pot full of butter is hung high and a group of men tries to reach and break it by forming a human tower. This joyous festival is also observed with utmost devotion in Orissa, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu.
