New Delhi: One of the most important festivals in India, Krishna Janmashtami — or simply Janmashtami — celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, according to Hinduism.
The largest celebration of this festival takes place in the cities of Mathura and Vrindavan, where Krishna is believed to have been born and spent his growing up years, respectively.
The festival falls during the Hindu month of Bhadrapada on the Ashtami date.
History and significance:
According to Hindu mythology, Krishna, the human incarnation of Vishnu, was born on this day to destroy Mathura’s demon king, Kansa, the brother of Krishna’s virtuous mother, Devaki. Krishna was born on the eighth (Ashtami) day of the dark fortnight in the Bhadrapada month (August–September) in Mathura and was Devaki and Vasudeva’s son.
When Krishna was born, Mathura was ruled by his uncle, King Kansa, who wanted to kill his sister’s children as a prophecy said that the couple’s eighth son would cause Kansa’s downfall. After the prophecy, Kansa imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva and killed off their first six children.
However, at the time of the birth of their seventh child, Balram, the foetus mystically transferred from Devaki’s womb to Princess Rohini’s. When their eighth child, Krishna, was born, the entire palace went into slumber and Vasudeva rescued the baby to Nand Baba and Yashodha’s house in Vrindavan.
After making the exchange, Vasudeva returned to the palace with a baby girl and handed her to Kansa. When the evil king tried to kill the baby, she transformed into Durga, warning him about his impending doom and in this way, Krishna grew up in Vrindavan and later killed his uncle, Kansa.
Celebration:
On his birth anniversary, people participate in dahi handi contests as Krishna loved butter. In fact, Krishna would often steal butter from women in Gokul and thus, he is fondly called ‘Makhan Chor’ by his devotees. Even if women kept the butter at a height, young Krishna would construct human pyramids along with his friends to steal the butter. This is enacted during the dahi handi ceremony.
Besides dahi handi, people donate to the poor and feed cows on this day. They also dress their kids as Lord Krishna as he is worshipped in his toddler form during Janmashtami.
