Janmashtami celebrations

This year Krishna Janmashtami is on the 28th of August 2013. This festival is celebrated to commemorate the birthday of Lord Krishna, who is the 8th and the most powerful incarnations of Lord Vishnu. This festival is celebrated all over India with much zest and fervour.

To know more about Janmashtami, click here - Krishna Janmashtami

Well... In this article the main topics that we are going to cover regarding the celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami are :

• First and foremost, Dahi Handi
• Raas leela - dance routine depicting the Love story of Krishna and Radha
• Celebrations in Krishna's birth place - Mathura and Vrindavan
• The fast observed on this day and lastly
• Special dishes and delicacies prepared on this day

Dahi Handi Celebrations

Dahi Handi is a game performed during the Janmashtami celebrations. In this, a earthen pot filled with butter, milk, dry fruits and honey is suspended from a rope about 30 ft to 40 ft off the ground. Sometimes the rope with which the pot is suspended is tied with rupee notes, which will later be distributed as prize money. Now, groups of young people gather around and form a huge pyramid by standing on the shoulders of one another until the last person is able to reach the pot and break it to claim the prize money. This Celebration attracts many tourists and this is a grand event in North Indian states, especially in places like Mumbai, Delhi and Mathura (birthplace of Lord Krishna) to name a few.

Raas Leela Celebrations

Raas leela is a divine dance which was performed by Krishna and the gopis, of whom Radha is the closest to him. On the night of Raas leela Krishna invited the gopis to the banks of river Yamuna and danced with them all night long.

Nowadays, Raas leela is performed as a dance drama on the night of Krishna Janmashtami. This is a very grand event, especially in Mathura and Vrindavan, the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

Raas leela dances will have different themes to it, they are :

Janam Leela : This depicts the story of Krishna’s birth till his youth and his love for Radha. This is the most popular one of the lot. 

Putana Leela : This depicts Krishna’s killing of demon Putana.

Naga Leela : This depicts Krishna’s Killing of Kalinga, which had poisoned river Yamuna.

Celebrations In Mathura & Vrindavan

Celebrations at Mathura, Vrindavan is a very grand event. Vrindavan is the birthplace of Lord Krishna. This city which houses more than 1000 temples get all alive during the festive season with rituals and special pujas happening at all the temples. The entire place is immersed with Krishna’s idols and bhajans playing at every street corner It is indeed a sight one would be pleased to witness. Special performances of Raas Leela are staged by professional dancers, which is a huge crowd puller. Each year thousands of tourists visit this holy place to witness this spectacular event. Vrindavan celebrates this festival for 8-10 days. But the actual event takes place at midnight (the time of Krishna’s birth) on the day of Janmashtami.

If you also want to listen to the melodies of Krishna Bhajans, then, click here - Krishna Bhajans

Fasting On Krishna Janmashtami

Fasting is one important ritual many follow on this day. Devotees keep a 24 hours fast and only break it at midnight, the time of Lord Krishna birth. It is believed that fasting is one medium which will get you closest to Krishna and win you his blessings. There are different types of fasting,

Phalahar Fast and Nirjal Fast. In Phalahar fast, the person can have fruits and milk during the day but refrain from having grains, rice, salt etc. Nirjal fast on the other hand is a very strict fast, in which the person does not even drink water let alone have fruits. Only after offering prayers and bhog to Krishna at midnight, the person observing fast eats any food.

Click here for posters of Lord Krishna to adorn the walls of your home - Krishna Posters

Special Dishes Prepared On Janmashtami

Krishna had a strong fetish for milk sweets and butter. He is called as Makhan Chor or Ladoo Gopal for this very reason. So, special dishes made out of milk or Khoya (coagulated milk)are prepared on this day and offered to Lord Krishna. People observing fast will break the fast at midnight after offering prayers to Krishna and by eating the milk sweet. Some of the popular sweets prepared on this day are Kheer (sweetened milk rice), jamoon, ladoo, jalebi to name a few.

To know more about Lord Krishna and his many kathas, Click here - Lord Krishna 

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Lord Krishna: Janmashtami 2013

This year Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna is on the 28th of August 2013. This is a festival celebrated far and wide by everyone. One can say that he is one of the most loved, adored and earnestly worshipped God among Hindus. Lord Krishna's influence has reached beyond India, many westerners are also showing interest in knowing and following the Krishna path.

Lord Krishna's life can be summarized mainly into 3 parts; his birth and childhood days, his youth and his role in Mahabharata.

For a thorough summary of Lord Krishna's birth, click here - Krishna Janmashtami

Bal Gopal (Little Krishna): The Makhan Chor

Lord Krishna is the 8th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who is the most powerful and also most popular avatar of Lord Vishnu. Krishna was the son of Vasudeva and Devaki, who was born as a reliever of the evil that had engulfed Mother earth. Soon after his birth, Lord Krishna was taken to a small village called Gokul where he was brought up as the son of Yashoda.

Later on, Lord Krishna slew all the demons who posed a threat to the people of earth. Some of the famous stories include, Killing of King Kamsa, his uncle and the ruler of Mathura; Killing of demon Putna , when he was only a baby, by sucking on her breast; Killing of Kali Nag who had poisoned River Yamuna and thus making it poison free.

Now, lets see the fun part of his childhood days. Lord Krishna was famous for being a mischievous child.

His love for butter and Indian sweets, especially Ladoos is known by everyone. Legend has it that, there has not been a day in Gokul when Krishna hasn't tried to steal butter and ladoos with the help of his trusted and equally mischievous brother Balaram and friends, much to Yashodha's worry to answer to the cries of all the neighbors' whose pots have been emptied of butter. His childhood days were spent as a cowherd, playing his mesmerising music with his flute and playing pranks on the Gopis and the people of Gokul.

For beautiful posters of this little God, click here - Krishna Posters and Wallpapers

Moving Onto The Youth & Handsome Krishna

Krishna who was famous for his charisma, valour and strength was loved and admired by one and all. He married Rukmini, the princess of Vidarbha and daughter of Bheemshaka. But a more popular and sought after story would be the story of Radha and Krishna. Even though Krishna ended up having wives, the love of Radha and the Gopika's for Krishna is regarded as the most purest.

There are many stories to back this above sentence. Once Narada asked Krishna why he considered Radha's love more pure than his wife Rukmani's. To this Krishna answered , the love of Rukmini is as a wife, who loves and worships her husband, who expects the same love and which can be paid back by loving her. But Radha's love is selfless, that she does not expect anything back from Krishna but to have the chance to Love him for eternity. The love between Radha and Krishna is considered the most purest and many worship them and seek their blessings.

Krishna's Role In Mahabharat

This stage in history can be considered the most important of all. The entire encounter is made into a book called Mahabharata, which is the most read, sought after book in the history. Krishna moved to Hastinapur to live with the Pandavas and Kauravas. When the Pandavas and Kauravas fought for the Kingdom, Krishna was sent as a mediator and failed in bringing peace between the two parties. Eventually a war broke out between the two which lasted for 18 days. Krishna played his part as the Chariot rider to Arjuna. It is then, that Lord Krishna advocates Arjuna about the Nishkam Karma Yoga (selfless action) which is the sacred path to achieve the truth. This part alone, where Krishna advises Arjuna makes the heart of the holy book Bhagavad Gita. The battle of Kurukshetra between Pandavas and Kauravas was fought in about 3000 BC.

Well... that is a brief summarization of Lord Krishna's life. Now, if this has gained your interest and if you would want to continue your prayers for Lord Krishna, then click here for - Krishna Bhajan

To know the Puja Muhurat for Krishna Janmashtami, click here - Janmashtami Puja Muhurat

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