Janmaashtamee – 2017

Raksha Vandhan
August 6, 2017
INDEPENDENCE DAY – 2017
August 15, 2017

‘Hare-Krishna, Hare-Raam; Nitaai-Goura, Raadhe-Shyaam’. My hearty wishes to all my brothers and sisters on account of the holy ‘Janmaashtamee’. Krishna Janmaashtamee, also known simply as ‘Janmaashtamee’, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna Bhagwan, the eighth incarnation of Bhagwan Vishnu. It is observed according to Hindu luni-solar calendar during the auspicious hours of Rohini Naxatra on the eighth day (Ashtamee) of the ‘Krushna Paksha’ (dark fortnight) in the month of ‘Shraavan’ i.e. today’s date. It was an important festival, particularly of the ‘Vaishnabism’ tradition. Gradally it was adhred by the ‘Shaivas’ (Shiva devotees) all over as Lord Shiva is considered to be the greatest ‘’Vaishnav’. Dance-drama enactments of the life of Krishna according to the ‘Bhagavata Puraana’ (such as ‘Raasa-Leelaa’ or ‘Krishna-Leelaa’), devotional singing through the midnight when Shree Krishna is believed to have been born, fasting (Upavaas), a night vigil (Jaagaran) and a festival (Mahotsav) on the following day are part of the Janmaashtamee celebrations. It is celebrated particularly in Mathura and Brindavan, along with major communities found in our Odisha, Manipur, Assam, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and other regions. Krishna Janmaashtamee is followed by the ‘Nandotsav’ festival, which celebrates the occasion when Nanda Raja distributed gifts to the community in Honour of the Supreme Power’s ‘Sacred Birth’.