CHENNAI: Chennaiites celebrated with joy Krishna Janmashtami, the birth of Lord Krishna, the re-incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna was born at midnight on ashtami in Kamsa’s prison. The birth of Krishna is an important event for the Hindus as Krishna is considered a saviour of the planet. According to mythology, when Mother Earth was unable to bear the burden of the sins of the vile rulers of the lands, she asked Brahma, the creator, for help. Brahma appealed to Vishnu, who assured him that he would soon be born on earth to crush evil.The festival is usually celebrated with a lot of pomp all over India on the eighth day in the month of Bhadon, which usually falls in the month of August/September. Janmashtami is known by several names like Gokulashtami, Krishnastami and Srijayanti.People celebrated the festival in many ways across the country. Special are performed usually around midnight, at the time of Krishna’s birth in many temples and homes. People celebrated the festival by paying a visit to temples, while children were dressed up like little Krishnas. Ardent devotees of Krishna even fasted through the day.On the occasion, people decked up their homes with flowers and illuminated them with lamps. Temples were also decorated and devotees offered night-long prayers. Priests performed several poojas to the deity with Panchamrit which comprises gangajal (water from the Ganges), milk, ghee (clarified butter), curd, and honey. This tradition is followed in many parts of the country.In fact, the celebration that takes place in Mathura and Vrindavan, where Krishna spent his childhood is quite a feast for the eyes. People from all over the country usually make their way to these places to celebrate the festival. The temples, especially in Vrindavan, are adorned with lamps and hold special poojas for devotees. Raslila is performed to recreate incidents from the life of Krishna and to commemorate his love for Radha. Such poojas are held not only in Vrindavan, but in several Krishna temples around the world.Krishna — the central figure of HinduismKrishna is the central figure of Hinduism. Traditionally, the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita has been attributed to Lord Krishna. He is often described as an infant or a young boy playing a flute as in the Bhagavata Purana, or as a youthful prince giving direction and guidance as in the Bhagavad Gita. The principal scriptures discussing Krishna’s story are the Mahabharata, the Harivamsa, the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana. Worship of a deity or hero called Krishna, in the form of Vasudeva, Bala Krishna or Gopala, can be traced to as early as the fourth century BC. Worship of Krishna as Svayam Bhagavan, or the Supreme Being, known as Krishnaism, arose in the Middle Ages in the context of the Bhakti movement. The Gaudiya Vaishnavism sect of Krishnaism was established in the 16th century, and since the 1960s has also spread in the West, largely due to the International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
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