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Krishna Janmashtami, also known as "Krishnashtami", "Gokulashtami", "Srikrishna Jayanti" or sometimes merely as "Janmashtami", is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Krishna, an incarnation/avatar of God Vishnu. Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day, Ashtami tithi, of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhaadrapada (the sixth month) in the Hindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra (western star name: Aldebaran) is ascendant.

The festival falls between August mid and September mid months of the Gregorian calendar. The ritual performed on this occasion is to fast the previous day (Saptami, seventh day), which is followed by a night-long vigil commemorating the birth of Krishna at midnight. At midnight, the deity of the infant Krishna is bathed, placed in a cradle and worshipped. The fast is completed after Aarti, a special prayer. In the early morning, women draw patterns of little children's feet outside the house with rice-flour paste, walking towards the house. This symbolizes the entry of the infant Krishna into his foster-home. This is performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and commemorate his love for people.

Sometimes, Janmashtami is celebrated for over two days as “Rohini” nakshatra and Ashtami may not fall on the same day. The first day known as Krishnashtami, as the birth of Bhagawan/Lord Krishna falls on the eighth day after Raksha Bandhan, and the second day is known as Kalashtami.

Special programs and events are conducted in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan on this day. Mathura is reputed to be the birthplace of Krishna. While the Rasa Lila or dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna, recreates the youthful Krishna's day; Govinda, an event in which teams of young men form human pyramids to reach a pot, that is positioned at a convenient height, and break it. The topmost person on the human pyramid reaches and breaks the Dahi Handi (a clay pot filled with buttermilk) and when that happens, the buttermilk is spilled over the entire group, symbolizing their achievement through unity. The festival is thus celebrated with great joy and communal togetherness by one and all.

Many many happy returns of the day.

# posted by Srikanth @ 4:36 PM