Krishna Janmashtami festival is celebrated every year on Bhadra Krishna Ashtami. Krishna Janmashtami marks the birth of Lord Krishna, the pioneer of Gyan Yoga, Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga. Considered the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu, born from the eighth womb of Vasudeva and Devaki to liberate mankind from the tyranny of Kansa. Krishna is the most important character in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharat.
Krishna is called by many names like Govinda, Kanha, Kanhaiya, Kale, Muralimanohar, Shyamsunder, Makhanchor, etc. He is also remembered and worshiped as the main creator of all the events of the world by Hindus.
Krishna was born from Devaki while she was imprisoned in the prison by her brother Kansa. Despite the tight security of the army all around, all the soldiers were asleep at the time of Krishna’s birth due to Vishnu’s seductive power.
At that time, Vasudev was told by radio that ‘take the newborn baby Krishna to his friend Nanda’s house in Vrindavan’. Tonight is also called Moharatri because of its captivating power.
It is mentioned in the Mahabharata that the soldier woke up only after leaving Krishna at Nanda’s house and bringing the girl born on the same day. It was Lord Krishna who killed his Maternel Uncle Kansa, who had become synonymous with sin, and released his grandfather Ugrasen, parents Devaki and Vasudev from prison.
This festival is celebrated to commemorate the birth of Vishnu as the incarnation of Lord Krishna on earth with the aim of protecting the human race from injustice, oppression and demonic tendencies.
Lord Krishna was in favor of lifelong truth and inspired the human community for good deeds. In the crusade between the Kauravas and the Pandavas at Kurukshetra, Lord Krishna taught war as the charioteer of Arjuna, one of the five pro-truth Pandavas.
Along with the name of Lord Krishna, the name of Radha is also taken and worshiped with great faith. There are temples of Radha Krishna in many places around the world, but the context of Radha Krishna’s reunion and marriage has not been recorded by history, but history mentions that Rukmini and Krishna were tied in marriage.
In the Sri Madhvagvat Gita, Krishna himself has said to Arjuna:
“Yada yada hi dharmasya, glanirbhavati bharat |
abhyutthanam dharmasya, tadatmanam srujamyaham ||”Meaning:
“Whenever there is loss of religion in the world and iniquity
prevails , then I myself will come to this earth with a new incarnation for the protection of religion.”
Reasons behind the celebration of Krishna Janmashtami:
In the Bhagwat Gita, Krishna says: “Whenever there is a predominance of evil and a decline of good doing, I will reincarnate again to end evil and to save the Dharma (good)”. This day is celebrated to remember that when the pot of sin is filled, God will come to the rescue and put an end to evil. Krishna Janmastami reminds the Nepalese people of these stories, of the battles between good and evil and says that good always wins.
All around the world, Hindus celebrate Krishna Janmashtami. The tradition is to fast until midnight. They chant shlokas from the “Bhagavad Gita” (the most important Hindu scripture) and sing religious songs (Bhajans). The temples of Lord Krishna are decorated and Bhajans and Kirtan are sung or played. On Krishna Janmashtami, numerous worshippers gather around the ancient Krishna temple in old Patan Durbar Square in Kathmandu to stay awake through the glorious night of his birth.
