Janmashtami 2024

Krishna Janmashtami will be celebrated on 26^th August 2024 (Monday).

Janmashtami (जन्माष्टमी) is celebrated on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna. It is celebrated on the Ashtami (अष्टमी) i.e eighth Tithi (तिथि) of the Krishna Paksha (कृष्णा पक्ष), the dark fortnight of Bhadprad month of Hindu calendar usually between August and September.

Janmashtami is a great festival in the Hindu religion. Lord Krishna is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He appeared in the Dwaparyug and was considered a complete incarnation of Lord Vishnu called “Purnavatar” (पूर्णावतार).

Janmashtami is also known as “Gokulashtami” and “Krishna Jayanti”. This festival is celebrated for two days.

The first day is for the Smart (स्मार्त) community and the second day is for the Vaishnav (वैष्णव) community. In this festival, devotees worship Lord Shri Krishna. They do Abhishek (अभिषेक) of the deity with Panchamrit (पंचामृत ) made up of milk (दूध), honey (मधु), ghee (घी), sugar (शक्कर) and curd (दही). The statue of God is decorated with new clothes and ornaments. Then sweets with leaves of Tulsi (तुलसी) are offered to God. It is believed that Lord Shri Krishna was born at the midnight. The devotees keep fasting for the day. Prayers, Mantra chanting, night vigil, singing, and dancing are done by the devotees in this festival. Dahi Handi (दही हांडी) is also performed by the devotees in some parts of the country. In Dahi Handi, a curd pot is hung on the top and a human pyramid breaks it. It is believed that Lord Shri Krishna had also broken pots of curd in his childhood.

Lord Sri Krishna was born in the prison of his maternal uncle Kansa. He was a demon. Lord Shri Krishna killed Kansa and freed his parents. The followers of the Hindu religion worship Lord Sri Krishna with great devotion. He is a very famous deity among Hindus. The festival of Janmashtami is celebrated with great joy and happiness in those places where Lord Sri Krishna spent his childhood and where he was born. Braj, Mathura Gokul, Vrindavan are the names of those places in Uttar Pradesh, India.