Krishna Janmashtami Celebration

Indian mythical heritage overflows with a pantheon of Gods and Goddesses. The celestial powers figure in the beliefs of the people and the divine influence plays an important part in their lives. Yet, among these deities, the most beloved is Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Vishnu. Janmashtami is a celebration of the birth of Lord Krishna and every ritual in the celebration of this auspicious occasion is associated with various phases of his life, which have been immortalized in both the religious and the folk literature.

Shravan vad 8 celebrates the birth of Lord Shri Krishna, one of the most venerated incarnations in the Hindu Dharma. Five thousand years ago, he incarnated, at the end of the third cosmic phase, 'Dwapar Yuga' and the beginning of the present, 'Kali Yuga'.

6th September, 2004 (Monday)

Janmashtami Celebration at our residence.

Here is a brief description of how we celebrated this day:

I came early from office to decorate the "jhula" (swing) and also to administer the light settings and we made drawing on the floor of peacock and parrot with Colored sand powder (Bhussi) with the help of my cousins.

At midnight, the Lord's birth hour, arti was performed. Lord Krishna was also installed in the form of 'Bal Gopal' (child form of Lord Krishna) in a swing and devotionally offered many sumptuous food dishes not forgetting the 'Maakhan' is especially included since Shri Krishna loved this in childhood. The traditional prasad is 'Panchajiri' - made of five ingredients: powdered ginger, 'suva', coriander, sugar and ghee.

After Aarti, we jubilantly sing and hail kirtans extolling the Lord's incarnation:
"Nand Ke Anand Bhayo, Jai Kanaiyalal ki .. Hathi ghoda palkhi, jai Kanaiyalal ki …"

It was much fun and we all enjoyed it a lot!

Regards,
Vijay Bhatter
http://vijay.bhatter.com