Janmashtami marks the birth of Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu born on earth to annihilate Kamsa, the evil king of Mathura.

According to Puranic lore, Kamsa had overthrown his father, Ugrasen and imprisoned him. Kamsa was wicked and depraved. His evil deeds caused Vishnu to return to earth in his eighth incarnation to rid the world of this menace. And so was born Baby Krishna.

Devaki and Vasudeva were the parents of Krishna. However, he was reared by a cowherd couple- Yashodha and Nanda. How did this come about? An oracle foretold that Kamsa would be killed by Devaki's eighth child. Unwilling to take any risks, Kamsa decided to kill Devaki. On the promise from Vasudeva that they would deliver any child born to them to Kamsa, the latter allowed Devaki to live.

Vasudeva and Devaki were imprisoned. Over time, Kamsa routinely killed children born to the couple. Finally, at midnight on the eighth day in the month of Shravana, on a dark, rainy and windy night, Lord Krishna was born. Miraculously, the locks on the prison door fell away, the guards fell into a deep sleep and Devaki and Vasudeva too were freed of their binds. A heavenly voice instructed Vasudeva to carry Krishna across the Yamuna river to a village called Gokul. The voice went on to say that Vasudeva should go to the home of his sister Yashoda and her husband Nanda and replace their new-born daughter with Krishna.

Vasudeva put his son in a basket and tried fording the Yamuna. He put the basket on his head and began crossing. The water level kept rising but every time it touched Lord Krishna's toes, it receded. Suddenly, a cobra sprang out of the waters and spread its hood over the basket. This was Sesha Naga protecting Krishna from the rain.

Realising his son was divinely ordained, Vasudeva hurried to Gokul, exchanged the children and returned to the prison. After Vasudeva had returned with the baby girl, Kamsa came to kill the infant. But before he could smash the infant's head and kill her, she rose into the sky prophesying Kamsa's death at the hands of Lord Krishna.

One of the most popular events marking Janmashtami is the breaking of the dahi handi or 'pot of curd'. This symbolises Lord Krishna's love of curds and butter! A terracotta pot containing curds is hung high up in the air. Groups of men form a pyramid to try and break this pot.

Another popular pastime during this auspicious occasion is attending Rasleelas where stories from Lord Krishna's life are acted out using folk theatre.

Post Comment

Name : Email : Password : Comments :