Krishna Janmashtami | History & Celebrations in the world

Krishna Janmashtami is knocking at the door. It is also known as Janmashtami or Gokulashtami, which is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. It is observed according to the Hindu lunisolar calendar, on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight) in Shraavana or Bhadrapad (depending on whether the calendar chooses the new moon or full moon day as the last day of the month), which overlaps with August/September of the Gregorian calendar.

This year 2020, Krishna Janmashtami 2020 will be observed on Tuesday, 11 August. As per the Hindu calendar, this year, 5247th Birth Anniversary of Lord Krishna will be celebrated. This day is celebrated mainly by Hindu religions across the world (especially in India & Bangladesh). But the happiness of this day is not only for Hindus but also for all religions. Today we will know about Krishna Janmashtami’s amazing facts, its origin, the way of its celebration. So, Here we go…

Who is Krishna?

Krishna is Devaki and Vasudeva Anakadundubhi’s son and his birthday is celebrated by Hindus calling as Janmashtami as he is considered the Supreme Personality of Godhead. According to Hindu tradition, Janmashtami is celebrated when Krishna is believed to have been born in Mathura, at midnight on the 8th day of Bhadrapada month (generally falls on between the August and September month in the Gregorian calendar).

Krishna is born when it was a time of rampant persecution, freedoms were denied, evil was everywhere, and when there was a threat to his life by his uncle King Kansa. Immediately following the birth at Mathura, his father Vasudeva Anakadundubhi takes Krishna across the Yamuna, to nurse parents in Gokul, named Nanda and yshoda.

How Krishna Janmashtami was started?

Road to Krishna Janmashtami: Krishna’s birthday is celebrated on Janmashtami by people keeping fast (starvation), singing devotional songs of love for Krishna, and keeping sleeplessness into the night. After Krishna’s midnight hour birth passed, statues of baby Krishna are washed and clothed, then placed in a bed. The devotees/believers then break their starvation (fast), by sharing food and sweets. Women draw tiny footprints (which is called Alpana in local) outside their house doors and kitchen, walking towards their house, a symbolism for Krishna’s journey into their homes.

How the celebration is formed?

This day is an important festival particularly to the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. Dance-drama performances of the life of Krishna according to the Bhagavata Purana (such as Rasa Lila or Krishna Lila), devotional singing through the midnight when Krishna was born, fasting (upavasa), a night vigil/sleeplessness (Ratri Jagran), and a festival (Mahotsav) on the following day are a part of the Janmashtami celebrations. It is celebrated particularly in Mathura and Vrindavan, along with major Vaishnava and non-communal communities found in Manipur, Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharastra and all other states of India.

Krishna Janmashtami across the world

In India:

Maharashtra

Janmashtami is celebrated in cities such as Mumbai, Latur, Nagpur, and Pune. Dahi Handi is celebrated every August/September, the day after Krishna Janmashtami. Here, people break the “Dahi Handi” which is a part of this festival. It involves communities hanging an earthen pot filled with Dahi (means yogurt in English) or other milk-based sweet, at a convenient or difficult to reach height.

Dhi handi — Dahi handi Breaking Festival

The festival gets this popular regional name from the legend of baby Krishna. According to it, he would seek and steal milk products such as Dhai (yogurt and butter) and people would hide their supplies high up out of the baby’s reach. Krishna would try all sorts of creative ideas in his chase, such as making human pyramids with his friends to break these high hanging pots. This story is the theme of numerous reliefs on Hindu temples across India, as well as literature and dance-drama repertoire, symbolizing the joyful innocence of children, that love and life’s play is the manifestation of God.

In Maharashtra and other western states in India, this Krishna legend is played out as a community tradition on Janmashtami, where pots of yogurt are hung high up, sometimes with tall poles or from ropes hanging from the second or third level of a building. Per the annual tradition, teams of youth and boys called the “Govindas” go around to these hanging pots, climb one over another and form a human pyramid, then break the pot. Girls surround these boys, cheer and tease them while dancing and singing.

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