Krishna, The Marvel
Lord Krishna the real hero with flute tucked in his Dhoti (a traditional Indian wear) and peacock feather beautifully decorated on his head is superior to all beings. The people like us are so fascinated by the reel Heroes like the Marvel characters but fail to realise that Khana (Pet name of Krishna)is indeed the real Marvel. Krishna Janmashtami is a grand festival that is celebrated all over the world ,mainly in Bharat. In few parts its celebrated as Janmashtami because he was born on the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Shravan that comes mostly in the month of August or September. While in few other places it is celebrated as Sri Krishna Jayanti meaning lord Krishna's birthday as they take the birth star Rohini in which he was born. In some places it celebrated as Gokulashtami , an ashtami of his birth celebrated in Gokul where he spent his childhood.Either ways a grand celebration especially in places like Mathura-Brindavan-Gokul in Uttar Pradesh where he was born and brought up, Dwaraka -where he ruled as a king , Kurukshetra - where the great Mahabharat war between Kauravs-Pandavs took place also the elixir of life Bhagavad Gita was told by him to Arjuna, Puri in Orissa ,Nathdwara in Rajasthan, Badrinath in Uttarkhand and Guruvayur in Kerala are few important shrines that echoes his existence and teachings to the world.
On the day of the festival the devotees wake up early and take head bath. They fast the entire day and get into decorating the house with flowers , rangolis and lamps. The elder ladies of the house like grandma, mom or mother in law takes active part in giving correct procedure to be followed in the preparation or arrangements . Being the most experienced they are well versed in the family traditions which were taught to them by their elders.They allocate the work in a systematic way so it makes the work easy and enjoyable to all. The younger ones are usually given the work of decorating and cleaning the house. The Middle aged ladies get into making the delicacies to be offered to lord Krishna. On this day fifty six varieties of delicacies are made which is called as chappan bhog. This tradition came into existence when lord Krishna was holding the Govardan hill on his little finger for one week to protect all the people from the severe rain caused due to Indra's anger . Lord Krishna has meal eight times a day, due to holding the hill for seven days he could not eat anything. Seeing him do this for the people, they decided to make eight meals per day for seven days which made it to fifty six items.From that day onwards its followed by his devotees and on his birthday the chappan bhog is offered to him.
The men of the house recite Bhagavad Gita and help by getting required stuffs from the market. It is known that lord Krishna was born in the midnight. The devotees gather together to sing songs in praise of lord Krishna until midnight. Krishna's feet is drawn from the main door to the kitchen and pooja room using rice flour.This tradition that shows us that lord Krishna has come to their house. Lord Krishna's most favourite items are Butter, curd and flatten rice with sugar . Other than the three ,The delicacies made consists of sweets, savouries, rice items, vegetables, fruits , dry fruits and cakes. In many societies dahi handi ( a pot breaking celebration like krishna did in dwapara yuga) is organised and the pot filled with curd is tied up on a pole.There will be competition for breaking the pot and who ever breaks it first will get a prize.Kids dress up like Radha Krishna and dance all around making naughty pranks . Adults too dress up and perform dance that reminds us of Raasaleela. These kind of celebrations make us feel as if we are with lord Krishna in Gokul.
At midnight lord Krishna is welcomed in a grand way by blowing the conch , ringing the bells and playing the dhol (an instrument like drum). Then arthi is performed and delicacies are offered to him. After all this everyone breaks the fast , enjoy the delicacies and relish the memories of the festival that was celebrated in a grand way. Some feel sad as lord Krishna came and went ,while others sit and smile thinking of how wonderful the day had been. With these lovely memories people carry on with lives eagerly waiting to have lord Krishna back in their house the next year. Though he is with us day in and day out we still feel his presence the most during such special days. We experience joy thinking about him and praying to him. Lets celebrate him the one who always stays with us no matter what. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare. Jai bolo krishna khannaiya ki.... Radhe Radhe .
