Krishna Janmashtami is one of the oldest and widely celebrated festivals in India. The festival marks the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth human incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who was born at midnight on the 'eighth day' or the 'Ashtami' of the holy month, Shravana, according to the Hindu Lunar calendar. This year will mark Lord Krishna's 5249th birth anniversary and will be celebrated on 19th August. Holy cities like Mathura, Vrindavan and Dwarka start preparing for the festival weeks in advance. It is believed that Lord Krishna spent his early formative years in Mathura and Vrindavan and later moved to Dwarika in Gujarat where he reigned as 'Dwarkadheesh' (King of Dwarika). Apart from this, devotees from different regions of the country have come up with their own local way of celebrating the festival over the years. Commonly, devotees celebrate the festival by fasting, praying, preparing delicious bhog and prasad for the deity and celebrating the Lord’s birth at midnight. Here we bring you some of the lesser-known facts about Shri Krishna Janmashtmi:
Krishna Janmashtami is also known as Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami, Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti and Sree Jayanti.
Lord Krishna was born at midnight to Devaki and Vasudeva but grew up in the care of Yashoda and Nanda in Vrindavan.
Little Krishna loved white butter and sugar crystals and for this reason, devotees prepare makhan mishri (white butter and sugar crystals) for the deity on Krishna Janmashtami.
Dahi Handi, also called Gopal Kala or Dahikala, is an event which usually takes place on the second day of Janmashtami. To this day, people recreate Lord Krishna's winsome moments as a child. An earthen pot filled with butter/dahi is hung from a great height and a group of people make a human pyramid and break the pot.
Janmashtami is celebrated across the country with many local variations. People in Tamil Nadu draw beautiful and elaborate patterns called Kolam, made with rice batter on the entrances of their houses and tiny footprints of little Krishna entering their houses.
Lord Krishna has a whopping 108 names. Some of his names are Ghanshyam, Govind, Mohan, Hari, and Baanke Bihari. Vasudeva, Devakinandan, Shyam, Devesh are some others. His numerous names reflect in all the hymns and bhajans devotees sing on the occasion of Janmashtami.
Very few people know that Nandotsava is celebrated a day after Janmashtami, it was observed by Nanda Maharaja, to celebrate the birth of his son. On this day, Nand Baba distributed ornaments, clothes, cattle and various other valuables among saints and sages. In return, they bestowed blessings on Lord Krishna.
On this day, devotees fast for 24 hours and break it the next day when the Ashtami Tithi is over with bhog that is prepared for Lord Krishna.
Janmashtami is celebrated with much fervor not just in India but also in the United States, Singapore and several other countries. Infact Krishna Janmashtami is a public holiday in Bangladesh.
