Janmashtami

Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, and carries the message of dharma's triumph over adharma. It falls on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada, traditionally at midnight, the exact hour Krishna is believed to have been born in Mathura.

Devotees observe a fast through the day, breaking it only after the midnight birth celebration (janmotsav), which includes bathing a small idol of infant Krishna and decorating cradles and tableaus (jhankis) depicting his life. The following day features the Dahi-Handi tradition, where human pyramids compete to break a pot of curd hung high above the street, reenacting young Krishna's playful butter theft.

According to tradition, Lord Krishna was born in a prison cell in Mathura to Devaki and Vasudeva, at a time when the tyrant king Kansa - Devaki's own brother - was killing her children at birth after a prophecy warned that her eighth son would end his reign. Krishna's birth and eventual killing of Kansa is remembered as the restoration of righteous rule in Mathura.

As the prophecy loomed and Kansa's guards watched the prison, Vasudeva is said to have carried the newborn Krishna out in a basket, crossing the flooded Yamuna river at night to reach Nand Baba's home in Gokul, where Krishna was raised in safety among the cowherds - a journey often retold as a symbol of divine protection overcoming impossible odds.

• •Fasting
• •Swinging the Cradle
• •Dahi-Handi
• •Raas Leela

• •Panchamrit Abhishekam
• •Chappan Bhog Offering
• •Night Vigil (Jagran)

• •Grandeur in Mathura-Vrindavan
• •Dahi-Handi in Maharashtra
• •Gokulashtami in South India

Dos and Don'ts