Janmashtami
auther : Mr. Tushar K. Kapoor
Janmashtami is a Hindu festival and a Gazetted holiday in many regions of India.
It may
be known as Gokulashtami or Sreekrishna Jayanthi in some regions. According to the Hindu
calendar, Janmashtami is celebrated on the Ashtami (eighth day) of Krishna
Paksha (dark fortnight) in the month of Shravana or Bhadra (in the
Hindu calendar, there is a leap month once every three years).
In India, is a Gazetted holiday in
Bihar, Chandigarah, Chattisgarah, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir,
Jharkhand, Miizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
In Tamil Nadu this holiday is known
as Sri Krishna Jayanti.
History and Background of Janmashtami
This is one of the most important
Hindu festivals, Janmashtami (Krishna Jayanti) is the birthday of Lord Krishna,
the eighth reincarnation of Lord Vishnu who gave the vital message of the
Bhagwat Gita - the guiding principles for every Hindu.
Across India, there will be
ceremonies and prayers at temples dedicated to Krishna. The day before may
consist of fasting and prayer up to midnight, the time at which it was said
that Krishna was born.
Krishna was born in Mathura, Uttar
Pradesh. In this region, a common tradition is the performance of Krishna Lila,
a folk drama consisting of scenes from Krishna's life.
Many customs have developed in the
different parts of India, all based on stories from Krishna's life. For
instance, it is said that as a boy, Krishna loved butter and milk so much that
they had to be kept out of his reach. This story is reflected in many climbing
games for children.
·
In Tamil Nadu, oiled poles with pots
of money tied to the top are set up. Boys dressed as Krishna then try to climb
these poles to get the money while onlookers squirt water at them.
·
In Maharashtra, where the festival is
known as Govinda, pots containing buttermilk are suspended high over streets.
Teams of boys then form human pyramids competing against each other to see who
can break the most pots.
Krishna
Many colourful legends tell of
Krishna's life and he is a prominent figure in Hindu writings.
As a child, he is noted for his
pranks such as the aforementioned butter stealing and images of him as a child
often show him dancing joyously and holding a ball of butter in his hands.
As an adult, he is most commonly
depicted as a dancer or a lover, often playing the flute and surrounded by
adoring women. In one story, it is said that defeated the many-headed serpent
Kaliya by dancing it into submission.
Janmashtami Around the World
Janmashtami is
celebrated with great enthusiasm by Hindus across the Indian subcontinent and
beyond. In "A Janamasthami journey", we take a whistle-stop tour around the world to
look at how this great festival is celebrated.
Janmashtami, Hindu Festval celebrating the birth (janma) of the goes Krishna on the eighth (ashtami) day of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada
(August–September). The number eight has another significance in the Krishna legend in that he is
the eighth child of his mother, Devaki.
The occasion is observed
especially in Mathura and Vrindavan (Brindaban),
in the scenes of Krishna’s childhood and early youth. On the preceding day
devotees keep a vigil and fast until midnight, the traditional hour of his
birth. Then the image of Krishna is bathed in water and milk, dressed in new
clothes, and worshipped. Temples and household shrines are decorated with
leaves and flowers; sweetmeats are first offered to the god and then
distributed as (the god’s leftovers, which carry his favour) to
all the members of the household. The devotees of Krishna commemorate the events of
his birth by preparing elaborate representations of Mathura, where he was born,
the Yamuna River, over which he was transported to safety, and Gokul
(ancient Vraja), the scene of his childhood, using small images of the god, the
other participants, and the animals and birds of the forest. Pots of milk are
hung from tall poles in the streets, and men form human pyramids to reach and
break the pots—this in imitation of Krishna’s childhood play with the cowherd
boys, when they stole curds hung out of reach by their mothers. The festival is
also a time for group singing and dancing.
Lord Krishna was born on the 8th day of Dark Fortnight
in the month of Bhadon. Bhadon is a month in the Hindu calendar. Moreover, he
was born around 5,200 years ago approximately. Because he was one of most powerful Gods. He was born for a special
purpose on Earth. Lord Krishna was born to free the world from evil.
As a
result, he played an important role in the book of Mahabharata. Also, Lord
Krishna preached about good karma and the theory of Bhakti.
Lord
Krishna was born in a prison. He was in the clutches if Kansa. But his father
Vasudev gave him to his friend Nand to save him. Because he knew that Kansa was
evil-minded. Furthermore after getting saved the upbringing of Sri Krishna was
in a Gokul family. Sri Krishna after some time became strong. As a result, he
was able to kill Kansa.
When I
was a child I used to watch many shows on Sri Krishna. As a result, I know many
things about him. First of all, Sri Krishna was very fond of eating Makhan.
Because of that he always used to steal it from his mothers’ kitchen. Therefore
his name was ‘Natkahat Nand Lal’. Sri Krishna was dark-colored. So he was
always worried about his color. Moreover, Sri Krishna had a friend named Radha.
Radha was of great importance to Krishna. So he always spent time with her.
Radha was very beautiful and fair so Lord Krishna always feels color complex.
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