Significance of Sri Krishna Janmashtami

“Yada yada hi dharmasya glaanirbhavati bhaarata, Abhyutthaanam adharmasya tadaatmaanam srijaamyaham”

Whenever faith is under attack in this world, I will re-appear to protect those who are devoted to me and to re-establish faith and order.

Janmashtami is celebrated in India and other parts of the world as the day on which the preacher of the greatest way of life, great philosophy of the Vedanta was born onto this earth. Krishna Avatar or incarnation is utmost important incarnations of the ten incarnations of Lord Sriman Narayana. The message of the four paths to liberation as spoken by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita is perhaps the greatest spiritual gift of Janmashtami to the Hindu thought process. It is believed that the devotees who fast on this auspicious day get all their desires fulfilled.
Lord Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki who were thrown in the jail by Devaki’s brother Kansa. It was predicted by some Aakashvani or soothsayers that Kansa was supposed to die at the hands of Devaki’s eighth child. On the day Krishna was born, due to divine intervention, all the guards fell asleep and the dungeon door flew open. Vasudeva took the baby in an open basket and carried it on his head to his friend Nand at Gokul. As it was midnight and raining heavily the five-headed Naga Devta (Snake king) shielded the baby with his hood and followed Vasudeva. River Yamuna also helped Vasudeva to cross the river easily by baring the riverbed for him to safely walk across.
Hence Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated across the country with great joy, pomp and and enthsiasm.
Dwarka, Mathura and Vrindavan are the places in India which attract the maximum visitors during the festival of Janmashtami. Festival of Janmashtami is also known as Gokulashtami or Krishnaashtami or Sri Jayanthi (in Tamil Nadu). During celebrations, Shri Krishna idols are bathed and decorated at midnight (The time on which Shri Krishna took birth) and many rituals are performed during the prayers offered to Shri Krishna. Other popular events like Dahi Handi are also held across the state of Maharashtra on Janmashtmi. During this event human pyramids are formed with an objective of breaking the dahi handi (earthern pots filled with curd) which are tied high above the ground. All in all, Janmashtmi is a festival which unites the nation and leaves everyone spellbound with excitement.

Janmashtami comes every year on the eighth day in the Month of Shravana (August-September). According to Hindu scriptures, Sri Krishna was born in the "Rohini" star. Janmashtami is celebrated for two days, the first day is called Krishnashtami or Gokulashtami and the second day is called Kalastami or Janmashtami.

Janmashtami Fast

Fasting is an integral custom on the festival of Janmashtmi. Most devotees fast for the entire day on Janmashtami.
There are two common and popular types of fast undertaken by different devotees,namely:

Phalhaar Vrat: In this fast, only the intake of juices, milk products, tea etc is allowed without cereals. One time food intake comprising of food made with vegetables and "Senda Namak" is allowed.

Nirjal Vrat: It involves total fasting including fasting from water.

Janmashtmi celebrations in Mathura & Vrindavan are the most prolific of all. Being the birth place of Lord Krishna, the city of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh is decorated in a festive look and people are purely in a devotional mood. The temple known as "Krishna Janma Bhoomi" and the famous "Rasleelas" (a kind of dance drama) form the core of celebrations at this place. Besides this, various stages of Lord Krishna's life are depicted by "Jhaankis". The most popular attraction of Janmashtmi in Mathura is the swings, which are beautifully decorated with flowers and placed in the courtyard of every house and temple to depict Lord Krishna's birth. At Vrindavan, which is situated 15 kms from Mathura, the celebrations are more festive as it's the place where Lord Krishna shaped his life. During Janmasthami, the whole town is decorated and almost in every house people fast and observe the festival with pomp and splendor. Especially the temples in Vrindavan (more than 5000) are sparkled with lights and other decorations.


Who is Krishna?

The Vedic scriptures, and all other scriptures gives the information about Supreme Being- Supreme power throughout the world known by different names as Yahweh, Allah, Rama, Jehovah and so on. This Supreme Being is full of extraordinary attributes or elements or features or characteristics that make him or her universally attractive and acceptance. Hence the name ‘Krishna’ meaning ‘the attractive one’, describes the Absolute Truth’ a Supreme-intelligent.

The Birth Story of Lord Krishna:

In the ancient Northern India a much flourished town called Mahtura was ruled by a great Yaduvanshi King Ugrasen. He had two children a son Kansa and a daughter named Devki. Kansa was so rude and cruel, that he forcefully became the king of Mathura by confining his father to the jail.

Being a brutal King, Kansa also had lots of love for his sister Devki and married her off to Vasudev, one of the high ranking officers in his army. On their marriage a heavenly prediction echoed that the eight child of Devki would be the slayer of Kansa. Feared by the prediction Kansa imprisoned Devki and Vasudev in the palace dungeon and ordered them to handover all their children to him.

Kansa killed all the six new borns but could not kill the seventh child due to the divine intervention because that baby was born to Vasudev?s another wife Rohini. Thus Balram, the elder brother of Krishna was born.

However, when the eighth child was born, a miracle occurred. The gates of the dungeon flew open, the guards fell asleep and a voice from the heavens commanded Vasudev to take his child to Gokul where his friend Nand and his wife Yashodha lived and exchange his son for their daughter. Thus, Kansa's plan to kill Krishna was foiled and This eighth child grew up as Yashoda and Nand?s son in Gokul and later killed his maternal uncle Kansa, freeing all the people of Mathura from his atrocities.

Significance of Janmashtami

5000 years ago on the Ashtami day, Lord appeared at midnight. Though it is a historical fact, has deeper significance. Midnight is the period of maximum darkness and from the every moment of Lords appearance in the world the darkness started diminishing. So, is also human heart and mind- afflicted with miseries and worries. This darkness in our life recedes when Lord resides in our heart and soul. The light of eternal hope starts streaming in. Lord appeared in a prison cell to his parents tied up in chains and amidst iron bars. This again an indication to human who are midst of material desires as iron bar will be freed after the Lords grace.

Krishna means the most attractive. He is the divinity, the energy, which pulls everything to it. Janamashtami, commemorates the birth of Lord Krishna, born to destroy Kansa, the evil king of Mathura. Thus, birthday of Lord Krishna holds much significance in India and celebrated in different forms. This festival offers an Occasion for social get together and exchange of good wishes. Devotees observe fasts and indulge themselves in pooja ceremonies. The fast signifies the controlling of the senses and indulging themselves in activities that takes them to the divine enlightenment and destroys the ego within.

Major Sri Krishna Temple in India

There are so many temples in India that are devoted to Lord Krishna. These temples are very significant places for worshipping Sri Krishna. Every year millions of devotees from all over the world queue up to have the blessings of Srikrishna. Krishna temples spread all over India are also considered so important in propagating the philosophy and practices of rich and ancient Vaishnava tradition. Here are the names of famous Krishna Temples in India :

•ISKCON Temples in Delhi, Bangalore, West Bengal and U.P. Hyderabad.
•Krishna Janma Bhoomi Mandir, Mathura
•Banke Bihari Mandir, Vrindavan
•Guruvayur Temple, Kerala
•Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, Karnataka
•Jagannath Temple, Puri, Orissa
•Dwarkadhish Temple, Gujarat

Traditional Recipes for Janmashtami

In North, most of them prepare the following :

Kheer

Janmashtami is observed with great fervor throughout the country. Apart from various rituals and customs, on the birthday of Lord Krishna, all his devotees prepare various kinds of sweets and dairy products to welcome him. One of the most commonly prepared dairy products on this day is the kheer.

Shrikhand

Janmashtami is celebrated with fun and fervor by Hindus all over India. The birth of Lord Krishna, one of the favorite deities of people following Hinduism, is marked by a number of colorful rituals. Cultural programs depicting the birth of Lord Krishna are organized by various committees.

Gopalkala

On the occasion of Janmashtami (the birthday of Lord Krishna), the devotees of Krishna prepare every favorite dish of the Lord. Then on the midnight of Janmashtami, these scrumptious dishes are offered to Lord Krishna in order to welcome him on the earth. These include varieties of sweets and dairy products.

Kalakand

On the occasion of Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s birthday), the devotees of Lord Krisha prepare umpteen number of scrumptious recipes. Most of these recipes are generally sweets and dairy items. It is because Lord Krishna relished on the dairy products. These sumptuous foods are then offered to Lord Krishna on the midnight celebrations of the festival.

Murukku

The day, when Lord Krishna was born, is celebrated as Janmashtami. One of the most prominent festivals of Hinduism, Janmashtami falls on the Ashtami of Sravana or Savana month. On the day, women in the Indian households prepare sweet as well as spicy delicacies, to celebrate the birth of the deity of innocence.

Peda

Janmashtami is celebrated with religious observance by Hindus all over India. Special puja is conducted on the day, to commemorate the birth of Lord Krishna. Though the rituals of Janmashtami followed are almost the same, people have different perception in different regions, when it comes to food.

Singhare Ki Puri

India is a land of myriad colorful festivals. Janmashtami is one such festival celebrated by Hindus across the length and breadth of the country. Lip smacking dishes are savored on the glorious occasion of the birth of the Lord Krishna. Singhare Ki Puri is one of the favorites of people living in northern parts of India.

In South especially in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu following delicacy are prepared for Janmashtami

1.Navaneetham
2.Sukkuvellam
3.Thattai
4.Seedai
5.Vellaseedai
6.Kodubale
7.Paal cake

Sri Krishna Padam Kolam

It was Butter used to form padam orginally. Over period this underwent transformation and got replaced with grinded paste is made out of soaked rice and used for drawing the padam of Sri krishna. Even Rice flour paste is used as an alternative.

Modern people do use their creativity and innovative technique to draw padams in coloured papers and stich them in cloth too. Some accept it some don't.--Appreciation fro creativity is seldom and rare.

In the market one can even find the stickers and also metal ready made padams available these days in Chennai and Tirupati.

For children Srijayanthi or Janmashtami definitely means a lot of snacking and jolly time for the sweet tooth. Snacks prepared usually have rice flour as main ingredient. Minimum five varieties of fresh fruits are offered.