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Krishna Janmashtami or Gokul Ashtami is major Hindu festival in India which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna.
According to the Hindu mythology, Krishna was the eighth human incarnation of lord Vishnu. The celebration of Janmashtami traditionally takes place in August and September on the eight days of Shravan. Eight days after the full moon, the birth ceremony of lord Krishna is commemorated in an exquisite manner where the idols of lord Krishna are adorned with flowers and other sorts of splendid decor done by the devotees to seek blessings of the lord. Devotes often travel from all over the counter and visit the holy Krishna temples across town as well the auspicious temples in Mathura and Vrindavan.
The devotees engage in a host of Bhajans and kirtan (which are the hymns and songs) sung in the name of the deity along with chanting if the verses from the holy Bhagavad Gita as well as Bhagavad Purana.
Lord Krishna is considered to be the epitome of love, peace, friendship and faith. According to the Hindu mythology, on this auspicious day it was believed that lord Krishna was born in a dungeon, in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh to mother and Queen Devaki who belonged from Yadav dynasty and father king Vasudev.
Queen Devaki was the daughter of the Ugransena and sister of Kansa, after his father, Kansa took over the throne and proclaimed himself as the king of Mathura. this was also the time when Devaki got married to King Vasudeva, as they both got married and were returning home in the chariot with kansa, they were suddenly interrupted by a divine voice from the sky which said that "Devaki and Vasudeva's son 8th child will bring your death for all the sins and atrocities you have committed!".
On hearing this divine voice, kansa was first perplexed but then was raged with fury, he decided to kill his sister Devaki right there, but when king Vasudev begs kansa not to kill Devaki and promises to gently hand over all the children they would bear, Kansa decides to show mercy and spare the life of Devaki, but however decides to lock them up both as prisoners until the birth of the 8th child, who would be the cause of his death.
Each time Devaki gave birth to a baby in the dungeon, Kansa would kill them every time. He consecutively took the life of 7 babies and now it was finally the time for the birth of the 8th child. The night of the birth of the 8th baby there was a terrible Storm in Mathura and just when the baby was born, Devaki fainted out of agony and happiness and soon there was a flash of divine beam in the dungeon accompanied by a divine voice that advice and Vasudev to take his son to the kingdom of Gokul where he would be safe, where Queen Yashoda had given the birth to a daughter.
The divine voice asked Vasudeva to exchange the babies and to return back to the dungeon. Vasudeva followed all the instructions given by the divine voice and returned with the girl child back to the prison. As soon as the he kept the baby besides his wife, she let out a huge cry which altered Kansa and he decided to finally kill the baby. When he tried killing the baby by throwing it on the wall, the baby didn't die, instead an avatar of goodness Durga emerged and she cursed kansa and told him that his days on this earth and numbered since, the one who is going to kill him has already taken birth. This incident forms the crux and highlights the importance and significance of Krishna Janmashtami.
From then, Lord Krishna with his wonderful endearing pastimes flooded people of Vrajà and the entire world .
Krishna’s charm would overwhelm the Vrajàwàsis and they like a hallucinated man would danced , sang ,played and enjoyed the bliss of their life. Out of his infinite adorable pastimes, one very loving activity was ‘Makhan Chori’ , stealing butter from the households of Vrajà with his notorious gang of boys and monkeys of Gokul. As soon as the ladies of the house leave for any purpose ,this batch of little innocent thieves would arrive and using their witty master plans steal the safely kept butter .
Though apparently this deed annoyed the Gopis of Vrajà (Cowherd Girls of Gokul and Vrindavan) but deep inside they relished and anticipated for the Lord to come , eat the butter they made and please them with his love and belonging.
Even after millenniums have passed the urge to witness this pastime of Lord Krishna and to approach for his unconditional pure love drowns everybody . Every year , Matki-Phhod or Dahi-Handi is one out of several activities that are performed to retrace the joy of Vrajawàsis in Dwapar Yug .
Thousands of Tolis or batches unite to form huge sky-high pyramids and reach the Matki ( earthen pot containing butter or curd).
This activity is performed worldwide and has even been a part of Guinness World Record.
Kalidas Kolambkar Dahi Handi, Wadala - Known for its hefty prize , Kalidas congress annonces the prizes in lakhs that ranged approximately Rs.5.50 lakhs in 2022. A vast number of thousands of people participate in this fete and are ranked based on the height they reached
Sri Krishn Temple, Udupi : With a joy and excitement no less ,you will experience the energy of the divine. If you really want feel the proximity of Lord and the positivity, this place is must visit.
Dahi Handi at Ghatkopar and Thane: Enumerable harmonies of music,hunderds of popular faces ,feasts and zeal all gathered up for the very beautiful festival of Janmashtami.Thane is one of the most popular places of Matki Phhod Competition in Janmashtami.
Sri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated with pomp all across the world . Devotees from different countries aspire and travel miles to come to the land of Vrajà to celebrate this holy festival.
Be it the loud energetic celebrations of Gokulashtami in Mumbai or Krishna Jamma’s sprouting craze in the people of Manipur, The attainted place of Dvaita Vedant Hindu Philosophy-Udupi where Balakrishna is being served with utmost devotion and love or be it our homes. Janmashtami brings life in us , with hymns and prayers for our beloved Lord Krishna and milk delicacies that he enjoys everything is imbibed with so much faith and emotions .
Wrapped in the anticipation with the feeling of a mother , a beloved or a friend is the the festival of Krishna Janmashtami received with infinite eternal bliss, divinity ,joy and unreciprocable endearment is the reply of our keeper- Our Krishna.
By - Anushka Gupta and Anusha Mangalvedhe (Get membership and feature your article. Check here)
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