About Janmashtami and Lord Krishna
Baby Krishna with Yashoda Krishna stealing butter Sri Krishna and Rukmini
Janmashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna, the
re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu who gave us the vital message of
the Bhagwat Gita - the guiding principles for every
Hindu.Janmashtami is celebrated with full vigor all over the
country. Janmashtami is celebrated in various parts of India
to mark the birth of Lord Krishna. It is observed on the
Ashtami day of the Shravan month according to the Hindu
calendar. The temples of Vrindavan witness an extravagant and
colourful celebration on this occasion.
Raslila is performed to recreate incidents from the life of
Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha.
Lord Vishnu is invoked in his human incarnation as Krishna on
his birth anniversary in the festival of Janmashtami. The idol
of the infant Krishna is bathed at midnight and is placed in a
cradle. Devotional songs and dances mark the celebration of
this festive occasion all over Northern India.
On this day, in some parts of India, especially Maharashtra,
youths celebrate it by breaking clay pots called 'Dahi-Handi',
filled with curd and butter suspended high above the ground,
young men and children form human pyramid to reach the pot and
break it. This custom follows the habit of Lord Krishna who
used to steal butter in this manner from villagers along with
his friends. The reason for this is that Gokul; the place
where lord Krishna spent his childhood used to generate a lot
of milk and the people used to sell it in Mathura, thus
depriving their children from milk and butter which is very
essential for young boys and girls.
In Maharashtra, Janmashtami witnesses the exuberant enactment
of the god's childhood endeavors to steal butter and curd from
earthen pots beyond his reach.
In south india in every home foot steps of baby krishna is
painted from entrance to pooja place indicating arrival of
baby Krishna. This is the time simple savory snacks with lot
of butter ( like murukku, chedai etc) loved by krishna is
prepared and offered to the lord.
Birth of Lord Krishna:
According to the legends, the birth of Lord Krishna took place
under extraordinary circumstances. Krishna was an incarnation
of Lord Vishnu who came to the world to get rid of all evil
demons. He was born at midnight on a dark, rainy night to
'Devaki' and 'Vasudev' who had been imprisoned by Devaki's
brother Kansa.
It had been foretold that the eighth son of Devaki would kill
the evil king Kansa. Upon hearing this prophesy, Kansa had his
sister and her husband imprisoned. He killed her seven
children one by one but when Krishna was born, there was
divine intervention to save the life of baby Krishna. The
guards had fallen into deep slumber and were unable to inform
their master about the newborn child.
A voice commanded Vasudev to take the baby to Gokul and
exchange with the newborn baby Nanda and Yashoda. The shackles
and the prison gates opened miraculously and Vasudev carried
the child in a small basket, through the waters of Yamuna. As
it was a dark stormy night, the waters of Yamuna were raging
but parted to let the carrier of the divine Krishna pass. A
huge snake known as Adisesha with 2000 hoods, glided behind
them, its hoods formed a protective canopy over the child.
When Vasudev returned back with Nanda's child the shackles
fastened and the doors closed and the guards awakened. Kansa
came and picked up the child to hurl it to the wall and kill
him but somehow the baby slipped from his grasp and took the
form of a Goddess laughing at Kansa, she vanished after
telling him that the one who would kill him had already taken
birth and was elsewhere.
As a little boy, Krishna was the heartbeat of Gokul, a
mischievous prankster who was a favourite amongst the gopikas.
He used to steal curd and butter from the houses of gopikas.
Even though he was a child, he performed several miracles. His
exploits are now the immortal legends of Braj. He killed a
number of 'asuras'(devils), vanquished the Kali Nag and later
he killed Kansa as it had been foretold.
No other form of God has appealed to the imagination of poets
and artists so much like Krishna. We are all very familiar
with devotional songs of Meera and Sur Das in the Hindi.
Ashtapathi in Sanskrit by Jayadev and Thiruppavai in Tamil by
Aandal.
Let us conclude this write up with a beautiful passage from
Bhagvat Geeta
from the mouth of the Lord Krishna
Ananyaashchintayanto maam
Ye janaah paryupaasate
Teshaam nitya abhiyuktaanaam
Yogak shemam vahaamyaham
Those who meditate on Me and worship Me and no other and who
are ever devoted to Me, their welfare rests on Me.
Baby Krishna with Yashoda Krishna stealing butter Sri Krishna and Rukmini
Janmashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna, the
re-incarnation of Lord Vishnu who gave us the vital message of
the Bhagwat Gita - the guiding principles for every
Hindu.Janmashtami is celebrated with full vigor all over the
country. Janmashtami is celebrated in various parts of India
to mark the birth of Lord Krishna. It is observed on the
Ashtami day of the Shravan month according to the Hindu
calendar. The temples of Vrindavan witness an extravagant and
colourful celebration on this occasion.
Raslila is performed to recreate incidents from the life of
Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha.
Lord Vishnu is invoked in his human incarnation as Krishna on
his birth anniversary in the festival of Janmashtami. The idol
of the infant Krishna is bathed at midnight and is placed in a
cradle. Devotional songs and dances mark the celebration of
this festive occasion all over Northern India.
On this day, in some parts of India, especially Maharashtra,
youths celebrate it by breaking clay pots called 'Dahi-Handi',
filled with curd and butter suspended high above the ground,
young men and children form human pyramid to reach the pot and
break it. This custom follows the habit of Lord Krishna who
used to steal butter in this manner from villagers along with
his friends. The reason for this is that Gokul; the place
where lord Krishna spent his childhood used to generate a lot
of milk and the people used to sell it in Mathura, thus
depriving their children from milk and butter which is very
essential for young boys and girls.
In Maharashtra, Janmashtami witnesses the exuberant enactment
of the god's childhood endeavors to steal butter and curd from
earthen pots beyond his reach.
In south india in every home foot steps of baby krishna is
painted from entrance to pooja place indicating arrival of
baby Krishna. This is the time simple savory snacks with lot
of butter ( like murukku, chedai etc) loved by krishna is
prepared and offered to the lord.
Birth of Lord Krishna:
According to the legends, the birth of Lord Krishna took place
under extraordinary circumstances. Krishna was an incarnation
of Lord Vishnu who came to the world to get rid of all evil
demons. He was born at midnight on a dark, rainy night to
'Devaki' and 'Vasudev' who had been imprisoned by Devaki's
brother Kansa.
It had been foretold that the eighth son of Devaki would kill
the evil king Kansa. Upon hearing this prophesy, Kansa had his
sister and her husband imprisoned. He killed her seven
children one by one but when Krishna was born, there was
divine intervention to save the life of baby Krishna. The
guards had fallen into deep slumber and were unable to inform
their master about the newborn child.
A voice commanded Vasudev to take the baby to Gokul and
exchange with the newborn baby Nanda and Yashoda. The shackles
and the prison gates opened miraculously and Vasudev carried
the child in a small basket, through the waters of Yamuna. As
it was a dark stormy night, the waters of Yamuna were raging
but parted to let the carrier of the divine Krishna pass. A
huge snake known as Adisesha with 2000 hoods, glided behind
them, its hoods formed a protective canopy over the child.
When Vasudev returned back with Nanda's child the shackles
fastened and the doors closed and the guards awakened. Kansa
came and picked up the child to hurl it to the wall and kill
him but somehow the baby slipped from his grasp and took the
form of a Goddess laughing at Kansa, she vanished after
telling him that the one who would kill him had already taken
birth and was elsewhere.
As a little boy, Krishna was the heartbeat of Gokul, a
mischievous prankster who was a favourite amongst the gopikas.
He used to steal curd and butter from the houses of gopikas.
Even though he was a child, he performed several miracles. His
exploits are now the immortal legends of Braj. He killed a
number of 'asuras'(devils), vanquished the Kali Nag and later
he killed Kansa as it had been foretold.
No other form of God has appealed to the imagination of poets
and artists so much like Krishna. We are all very familiar
with devotional songs of Meera and Sur Das in the Hindi.
Ashtapathi in Sanskrit by Jayadev and Thiruppavai in Tamil by
Aandal.
Let us conclude this write up with a beautiful passage from
Bhagvat Geeta
from the mouth of the Lord Krishna
Ananyaashchintayanto maam
Ye janaah paryupaasate
Teshaam nitya abhiyuktaanaam
Yogak shemam vahaamyaham
Those who meditate on Me and worship Me and no other and who
are ever devoted to Me, their welfare rests on Me.
