JANMASHTAMI / KRISHNA JAYANTI

15th August 2024

Hindu

The birthday of Krishna is widely celebrated throughout the Hindu world. He is the very popular eighth avatar/incarnation of Lord Vishnu, and many Hindus fast in his honour for 24 hours until midnight, the time of Krishna’s birth. For them, Vishnu and Krishna are essentially one and the same. Those unable to fast will take a little fruit and milk. Krishna is welcomed in temples with singing, dancing and the distribution of sweets. At many homes and temples an image in blue of the new-born Krishna is put in a cradle and again special sweets (e.g. panjiri, the powder given traditionally to women after childbirth) are offered and distributed.

The celebration mainly consists of spending the whole night in the worship of Krishna, reciting hymns of praise and stories of his pastimes, repeating prayers from the Bhagavata Purana, offering respect to Krishna, and finally the ceremonial breaking of the fast. Temples are decorated for the occasion, kirtans are sung, bells are rung, the conch is blown, and Sanskrit hymns are recited in praise of Lord Krishna. At Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna, special spiritual gatherings are organised, and pilgrims from all over India attend these festive gatherings. The next day is celebrated as Krishna Jayanti, Krishna’s birthday.

Krishna is thought to be ideal in all his human relationships – a darling son to his parents, an endearing and humble friend and comrade, playing the flute and mingling easily with cowherd boys and girls, a loving husband and a trusted brother.

At Krishna Jayanti, Hindu women in South India decorate their houses beautifully, ready to welcome their Lord. From the doorway to the inner meditation room of the house the door is marked with a child’s footprints, using rice-flour mixed with water. This creates the feeling in them that their God’s own feet have made these marks. For him they prepare various sweetmeats and offer them to him. These normally include butter, since as a child, Krishna was said to be fond of homemade delicacies and was known to steal fresh butter from neighbourhood homes and distribute it among his friends with great compassion.

The Bhagavad Gita, in which Krishna reflects on the nature of Truth and Duty, has formed the basis and inspiration for much of Hindu belief, describing the various paths to God in a profound and yet concise manner. The setting of the Gita in Kurukshetra represents the eternal battlefield in the human soul. Here Krishna himself often affirms his role in life while he explains to Arjuna the intricacies of the highest spiritual philosophy, explaining the meaning and purpose of life. He shows how he was engaged incessantly in ‘worldly’ actions – but only for the welfare and sustenance of other people and the society in which he lived.

Krishna had indeed uttered falsehoods many times, had broken his pledges, had several wives and even ‘married’ 16,000 women, but still none of these actions violated the truth of his dedication, claiming that he did all these actions in a spirit of supreme detachment, motivated only with the highest goal of safeguarding Dharma.