Janmashtami, popularly known as Gokulashtami, Krishnasthami, or Srijayanti, the celebration of Krishna Janmashtami is observed with great zeal and fervour in the cities of Vrindavan and Mathura, where Lord Krishna was born and brought up respectively. Other places where Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated by Krishna devotees are West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and others. In this article, you will learn the story and history of Janmashtami and how to celebrate Janmashtami at home.
Krishna Janmashtami
The year 2022 will celebrate the 5249th birth anniversary of young Kanha Ji. This year, the Krishna Janmashtami will fall on the 18th and 19th of August 2022, i.e. Thursday and Friday.
The Story Of Janmashtami
The story of Janmashtami begins with the Janmashtami tithi, which marks the birthday celebration of Young Nanda lal Or Krishna, the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu. According to the Hindu calendar, the birth celebration is observed on the Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadrapada which generally coincides with the August-September month of the Gregorian calendar. As Lord Krishna was born at midnight hours, the celebration is centred around two days!
According to the story of Janmashtami, Lord Krishna was born to mother Devaki and father Vasudeva who were put in jail by Devaki’s brother, King Kansa, the demon king of Mathura. He was born into our mortal world to spread the universal message of love and peace into the hearts of humankind.
History Of Janmashtami
The history of Janmashtami begins on the day when young Krishna was born to light up his parents’ lives. But, what was the significance of Lord Krishna’s birth? Why was he fostered by Mata Yashoda? Let us take a look into the history of Janmashtami to demystify the story.
According to Hindu mythology, the story of Janmashtami goes like this: the then demon King of Mathura tied the knot of her sister with Vasudeva in the hope to expand his territory. But, soon the villain King learned through some mystical revelation that the children of his sister and Vasudev will cause his decline.
Having learnt of his fate, he put the couple in jail and killed their first six children to avoid any kind of risk. But, destiny cannot be altered! During the birth of their seventh son, Balram, the fetus was transferred magically from Devaki’s womb to Princess Rohini’s and thus the child could not be killed. But, King Kansa did not accept defeat. He again waited for the eighth child of his sister.
When he heard that his sister was soon going to be a mother again, he devised plans to kill the baby. But, Vasudev fled with the baby, as soon as he was born, and gave him to Nand baba and Mata Yashoda of Gokul, who were childless. After making sure that their baby was safe, Vasudev returned to the villain with a baby girl. When Kansa tried to kill the baby, the girl transformed into Maa Durga and warned Kansa against his fate. Krishna, the child grew up beside his foster parents. Later became an adult and killed the demon King Kansa.
Also Read – Krishna Janmashtami Festival – Importance, Wishes, Quotes And Its Celebration
Why We Celebrate Dahi Handi?
The main attraction of Krishna Janmashtami is Dahi Handi. According to Hindu mythology, the history of Janmashtami goes like this: the mischievous young Krishna loved to satiate his hunger with butter, ghee and makkhan. He along with his friends used to steal such milk products from the neighbourhood.
Once, in the history of Janmashtami, agitated with their acts, the villagers complained about their mischief to his mother, Mata Yashoda, but the result was in vain. The young children started making human pyramids to reach heights and steal the pot of Dahi and makkhan from there! To celebrate Lord Krishna’s mischievous activities, every year on Krishna Janmashtami, the Krishna devotees enact the events of Dahi handi to commemorate the event. But, how to celebrate Janmashtami at home? What are the rituals to be followed to gain Lord Krishna’s blessings?
Also Read – Shri Krishna Janmashtami – Why Janmashtami Is Celebrated For 2 Days?
How To Celebrate Janmashtami At Home
On the auspicious occasion of Krishna Janmashtami, the devotees of Krishna must keep a fast in the honor of the birthday celebration of the young Lord. Houses must be decorated with beautiful flowers, mor pankh, lights, and diyas.
Other than observing fast and worshipping the idol of Lord Krishna, the devotees can also organize competitive events like that of Dahi handi. Krishna Leela can also be enacted on the auspicious occasion of Gokulashtami. Young children can be adorned with beautiful dresses and jewelleries resembling Lord Krishna and Radha to make the story of Janmashtami more lively and cheerful.
Janmashtami is incomplete with the Krishna Jhula and the flute. People can decorate the Krishna Jhula beautifully alongside the flute. Apart from that, making a model of Vrindavan village, and preparing rangoli and peacock feathers also forms an important part of the Krishna Janmashtami celebration.
No celebration in India is complete without sweet delicacies. Thus, on the auspicious occasion of Janmashtami, devotees prepare sweet dishes such as Kheer and other milk products as an offering to the Lord. This is the process of how to celebrate Janmashtami at home.
Also Read – Janmashtami Vrat Vidhi, Puja Vidhi And How To Make Janmashtami Bhog Prasad
Few Final Words
On this sacred event, the temples of Mathura and Vrindavan are decorated beautifully. People also enact Rasleela to recreate the love life of Krishna with Radha! This is how the story of Janmashtami progresses.
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