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FACTS
and
FIGURES
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Time of the year ~
August - September
(9th August, 2012).
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Places to visit ~
Mathura, Brindavan & Dwarka.
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Duration of the festival ~
One day. |
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Traditions
Janmashtami,
the festival associated with Lord Krishna’s birthday, is a combination
of religion and celebration together. This festival is celebrated all over India
especially among Hindus. Mathura, the ancient north Indian town, is Krishna’s
birthplace, and it is one of the most sacred places in the entire country. People
celebrate this festival with fun, frolic, and merrymaking. The raasleelas, bhajan,
kirtan, and various local functions are the special attractions of the place.
The celebration generally consists of bhajan, kirtan, chanting of holy mantras
and preparation of 'jhoolan' or swing, where the idol of lord Krishna and His
beloved Radha is kept and worshiped in the evening. Preparation of sweets and
traditional goodies, dressing up small children the same way lord Krishna did
in His childhood days, etc., are some of the other important aspects of this
festival. |
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Celebrations
The
festival of Janmashtami is celebrated during the month of August or September
depending on the Indian calendar. The celebration of this festival is followed
according to the Indian calendar and hence the month in the English calendar
varies every year. This day also falls on the eighth day of fortnight of no-moon
in the month of Shravan, when the monsoon season is at its high in most of the
part of India . The ceremony that follows is a very simple affair. To the chanting
of mantras, the priests bathe the idol with Gangajal (water from the holy Ganges
river), milk, ghee (clarified butter), oil, and honey. Yellow-robed priests
pour all these from a conch shell. Once the ceremony is over, it is time for
devotees to break their daylong fast and to pack their bags and head homeward.
Janmashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of the new moon in the lunar month
of Bhadra corresponding to the months of August-September of the western calendar.
In Janmashtami, the moment of importance is midnight when Krishna is born. People
fast all day (some without water) and eat only after the midnight birth ceremony
is over. Temples and homes all over India display jhankis (tableaux) showing
important incidents from the Lord's life. Often the image of the baby Krishna
is placed on a swing and bathed with 'charanamrit' (holy water). Midnight prayers
are performed. The sound of hymns and religious songs extol the greatness of
Krishna. While this festival is celebrated throughout the country, it is in
Mathura that the celebrations reach their peak. The midnight ceremony is often
relayed live to devotees by radio and television. |
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Regional
Celebrations
Except
for Dwarka, which is in Gujarat, most of Krishna's story unfolds in Mathura
and its environs. Brindavan (15 km from Mathura), where he played the flute,
sported with the gopis, and wooed his sweetheart Radha; Govardhan (26 km away)
where, as a child, he is said to have held aloft the Govardhan mountain on his
finger for seven days and nights to protect the cowherds from a deluge; Gokul
(16 km), where baby Krishna was kept hidden and sheltered from the evil King
Kansa by his foster mother Yashoda; Barsana (21 km from Govardhan), the birthplace
of Radha; all these and many other small towns are significant because they
were in some way connected with Krishna. Not surprisingly, the entire area,
called Brajbhoomi, is deeply steeped in Krishna lore. Janmashtami is celebrated
in this entire area with incredible fervor and gaiety. However, the place which
is considered the holiest is obviously Mathura, and within Mathura too, one
particular temple that is built on the exact site where Krishna was born. |
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It
is estimated that during Janmashtami, almost seven lakh people pour into Mathura
and the surrounding towns. Buses crammed with pilgrims come from every corner
of the country and line every lane and road in Mathura. Every hotel, every guesthouse,
is full, and if one has not made arrangements, one cannot get a room anywhere
in the city for all the money in the world. So a lot of pilgrims simply camp
wherever they find place in a park, on the pavement, even on the road! All of
Mathura becomes a sort of giant living room, with people sitting, sleeping and
cooking wherever they can find a square inch. They throng the temples (of which
there are many in Mathura), and wander around the innumerable little bazaars
that mushroom all over the city. Snack stalls, mithai (sweet) shops, tiny shacks
selling trinkets and baubles, others selling religious books and cassettes and
pictures of Lord Krishna spring up magically on every road. |
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Nevertheless,
the real crowds during Janmashtami, of course, are at the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi
temple. Hundreds of pilgrims squat on every inch of the temple grounds, fanning
themselves with newspapers and listening in pin drop silence to the discourses
of erudite religious teachers discourses relayed through a close circuit television
network to every corner of the temple. Many people simply camp in the temple
all day so that they can witness the midnight birth ceremony. As night falls,
the crowds swell into the proverbial sea of humanity, jostling and pushing,
in an attempt to get into the temple. The main hall of the temple, where the
ceremony actually takes place, is usually so tightly packed with people that
there isn't place to even squeeze in a pin! As twelve o'clock draws nearer,
an anticipatory murmur runs through the crowd and it starts straining to get
a glimpse of what the priests are doing. At the stroke of midnight, when the
deity is taken out, the crowd lets out a mighty roar - 'Krishna bhagwan ki jai'!
The sound of frenzied clapping, the call of the conch shell rents the air, as
the small deity, wrapped in white, is placed on a raised platform so that everyone
can get a look. Besides Mathura, this festival is celebrated all over India
with the special procedure and the regional festivities that are normally followed
in each region. |
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Places
to visit
During Janmashtami
The
best places to visit during this festival time are Mathura, Brindavan, and Dwarka.
These mythological places are related to Lord Krishna and hence, celebrations
of this festival follows various programs. Raasleelas, local plays, dramas,
etc., most of them marking the onset of festivities.
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