The Hindu community celebrates Janmashtami nationwide. This festival honours the birth of Lord Krishna and goes by many names, including Krishna Janmashtami and Gokulashtami. Lord Shri Krishna is believed to have been born on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadrapada (Aug-Sept) as Devki’s eighth son. The dates of Janmashtami 2023 are September 6 and 7.
History
Mathura, in modern-day Uttar Pradesh, India, is traditionally credited as the location of Krishna’s birth. He is revered as the eighth incarnation (avatar) of Lord Vishnu. However, his maternal uncle King Kansa posed a danger to his life. Vasudeva, Krishna’s imprisoned father, took his newborn baby in a basket and carried him over the Yamuna River to Gokul, where he was brought up by Nanda and Yashoda.
Janmashtami is the name given to the celebration of Krishna’s birthday.
Significance
Lord Krishna is revered as a deity for his pivotal part in the Hindu epic. He represents godliness, kindness, and upright judgment. The principles of good living, karma (activity), and devotion that he advocated are celebrated today in his honour.
Interesting Facts about the Day
This year marks the 5250th Krishna Janmashtami, the celebration of Krishna’s birth. Lord Krishna was reportedly born on July 18th, 3228 BCE, according to certain researchers.
It is a major religious celebration and one of the largest in the world. Last year, around 930 million people worldwide celebrated Janmashtami.
In New York City, a large group dedicated to the Hindu god Krishna called the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was established. There are more than 800 ISKCON temples in India, making it the country with the biggest concentration of such institutions. It is based out of Mayapur in West Bengal. The Hare Krishna movement is the alternate title used to refer to ISKCON on a global scale.
In countries as diverse as New Zealand and Paris to Singapore, Malaysia and Canada, there are sizable Hindu communities. For this reason, people in these nations commemorate Janmashtami every year.
In Bangladesh, Janmashtami is a national holiday. Every year since 1902, Dhaka’s Dhakeshwari National Temple has led this celebration through the streets of Old Dhaka. The 1948 partition of India and Pakistan caused this to be postponed. In 1989, the ritual was revived.
is a common ritual that is meant to resemble Lord Krishna’s butter-stealing antics. The boys join and build a human pyramid to reach the clay pot that has been hung around twenty to thirty feet above the ground. In Mumbai alone, there are around 4,000 Dahi Handi celebrations each year.
