Celebrating the divine birth: Unveiling the joys of Janmashtami

Introduction

Krishna Janmashtami, also simply known as Janmashtami or Gokul Ashtami, is an annual festival in Hindu mythology which celebrates the birth of lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of lord Vishnu. In some Hindu texts, such as the Gita Govinda, lord Krishna has been identified as the supreme god and the source of all avatars. Janmashtami is celebrated on the 26^th of August, or the 8^th of Bhadrapada, according to the Hindu calendar.

Definition

If we break the word down, we can see that it is made up of 2 parts.

Janma (birth) + Ashtami (eighth)

This clearly means that the birth (Janma) of lord Krishna is on the eighth (Ashtami) of Bhadrapada.

In other words, according to the Hindu luni-solar calendar, Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight).

Origin

Information about Krishna’s life is noted in the Mahabharata, the Puranas, and the Bhagwat Purana.  Krishna is the eighth son of Devaki (mother) and Vasudev (father). Surrounding the time of his birth, abuse was wild, liberty was being denied, and King Kamsa’s life was threatened. Krishna was born within a prison in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, where his parents were forced to stay by his uncle, Kamsa. During Devaki’s wedding, Kamsa was warned by a heavenly voice that Devaki’s eighth son would be the cause of his death. In an effort to resist this prediction, Kamsa imprisoned his sister Devaki and her husband and promptly killed the first six of her newborns after their birth. The guards responsible for keeping watch over Devaki’s cell fell asleep and the cell doors were miraculously opened at the time of Krishna’s birth. These events allowed Vasudeva to send Krishna across the Yamuna River to his foster parents, Yashoda (mother) and Nanda (father).

This legend is celebrated on Janmashtami by people keeping fasts, singing devotional songs of love for Krishna, and keeping a vigil into the night.

Celebration

Janmashtami can easily be celebrated at a temple or at home. Fasting is one of the most common ways to show your love and devotion to lord Krishna. One of the most necessary celebrations is to bathe and clothe an idol of lord Krishna. Another one of the important celebrations is Dahi Handi. In Dahi Handi, people form human pyramids to reach a clay pot hanging from a tall structure, and break it open. There are many other ways to celebrate Janmashtami, apart from these!

Happy Janmashtami!!

By Khyati Singh, Class 5, Apeejay International school, Greater Noida