Janamashtami Festival

Janamashtami

Janma means 'birth' and ashtami means 'eighth day'. Janamashtami, celebrated in August / September, commemorates the birth of Lord Krishna, believed to be an incarnation of Lord Vishnu (preserver in the Hindu pantheon), born to annihilate Kansa, the evil king of Mathura.

This festival is very popular in North India, especially in Vrindavan and Mathura (the places where Lord Krishna spent his childhood). People observe a daylong fast, which is broken only at midnight, the time when Lord Krishna is believed to have been born. Temples and homes are lit and beautifully decorated. Religious hymns and prayers are offered all night long. Mathura , Lord Krishna's birthplace, has 400 temples dedicated to him, and the celebrations at the Dwarkadhish, Banke Bihari, Rangaji, Shri Krishna Balram and Gopinath temples are especially noteworthy. Raslilas (dance dramas) are performed to recreate incidents from the life of Lord Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha.

In Maharashtra, Janmashtami is the time for the exuberant enactment of Lord Krishna's childhood endeavors to steal butter and curd from earthen pots placed beyond his reach by his mother. A matka (earthen pot) containing these (and a monetary prize) is suspended high above the ground and groups of young men and children form human pyramids to try and reach the pot and eventually break it.

In South India , Janmashtami is celebrated with prayers, devotional renditions and offering of fruits and special prasadams to Lord Krishna. In some houses, a typical tableau of 'Gokulam' is laid out, with mud images of Devaki and Vasudeva (Krishna's parents), little Krishna in a basket, a cow, and other things related to Krishna 's legends.