Happy & Shubh Janmashtami – Lord Krishna’s Birthday – September 2015

Janmashtami , a Hindu festival is Lord Sri Krishna’s birthday, also referred to as Krishnashtami, Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami, Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti,Sree Jayanti in various parts of India and Nepal. Janmashtami is among the most celebrated religious festivals for Hindus around the world. Sri Krishna is an avatar of Lord Vishnu.

This year in 2015, Janmaashtami is held and celebrated on September 4th and celebrated around the world, from Trinadad, Guyana, Suriname, US, UK and Canada to Nepal, Australia and Fiji. Krishna was the 8th son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Based on scriptural details and astrological calculations the date of Krishna’s birth, known as Janmashtami, is 19 July 3228 BCE(before Christian era) and departed on 3102 BCE. Lord Krishna belonged to the Vrishni clan of Yadavas from Mathura, and was the eighth son born to the princess Devaki, and her husband Vasudeva.

Janmaashtami, which is known in Mahashtra as Dahi Handi, is celebrated with enormous following and passion. The handi is a clay pot filled with buttermilk that is positioned at a convenient height prior to the event. The topmost person on the human pyramid tries to break the handi by hitting it with a blunt object. In Gujarat where the city Dwarka has Dwarkadhish temple celebrates it with pomp and joy. In Jammu, Kashmir ,kite flying is an important part of the celebration on his day, although sometimes limited due to terrorism threats from Islamic extremists.

In the Northern India, where the lord was born, in the city of Mathura, many hindus and other spiritual devotees go to Mathura and Vrindavan go for Shri Krishna’s birthday celebrations since these places are where Lord Krishna had spent his childhood.

Many followers of Lord Krishna perform a fast on this day. At midnight on Lord Krishna’s birth hour, arti is performed. The traditional prasad is ‘Panchajiri’ – made of five ingredients: powdered ginger, ‘suva’, coriander, sugar and ghee. Other ingredients include poppy seeds (khaskhas) and dessicated coconut shavings. After arti, devotees jubilantly sing and hail kirtans extolling the Lord’s incarnation: “Nand gher anand bhayo, Jai Kanaiyalal ki .. Hathi, ghoda, palkhi, jai Kanaiyalal ki …” “Bawa Nand tane darbar, nobat vaage re lol … Hari pragatya taaranhaar, nobat vaage re lol…”.

The Chakra news team greets everyone a Shubh & Happy Janmashtami (Lord Krishna’s Birthday). Jai Shri Krishna! Hare Hare Krishna! Here is a bhajan (religious song for Hindus) often used on Janmashtami.