Let’s Celebrate: Krishna Janmashtami

Hello Everyone!

Krishna Janmashtami is just around the corner! Krishna Janmashtami (also known as Lord Krishna’s birthday) is a Hindu festival to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna (the 8th avatar of Lord Vishnu).

There is a beautiful mythological story associated with this day. Lord Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva. His parents were kept in a prison by Devaki’s evil cousin Kamsa. He kept them imprisoned as there was a prophecy saying that Devki’s eighth child would kill Kamsa. Evil King Kamsa was furious and kept them in a dungeon of his palace. Every child Devaki had, was killed by Kamsa. Devaki and Vasudeva were hopeless until Lord Vishnu came while they were asleep and said that he would come as an avatar of their soon-to-be-born son and that their son must be sent to their friend’s house in another town. Krishna was born at midnight and after his birth, it was time to send him away. Miraculously, the guards fell fast asleep and the prison gates opened by themselves. Therefore, Vasudeva carried Krishna in a basket and took him across Yamuna River to his friend Nanda Baba and his wife Yasodha. He left Krishna to their house and took the newly born girl child instead. Yasoda had a daughter that Vasudeva swapped with Krishna. When he got back in prison, Kamsa attempted to kill the baby but it fell out of his hands and it turned out to be Goddess Durga. She told Kamsa that he had done terrible things in life and he would be killed by Krishna. Kamsa was very scared for many years. When Krishna was 11, he killed Kamsa. As Lord Krishna was born at midnight, many Hindus fast that day and eat in the evening or at midnight. Some people stay at the temple to do pujas until midnight to signify Lord Krishna’s birth. Whereas, some organizations create plays/dramas/musicals to showcase the life story of Krishna.

In our family, we go to the temple and fast for the day. We do prayers and eat lots of sweets and vegetarian food. My favorites are kheer, halwa, puri, ladoos, and gulab jamun. I like to dress up in my traditional outfits and go to the temple and sing or listen to my favorite Krishna Bhajan.

This year Krishna Janmashtami is on August 30th. I hope you all have a great celebration with your family! Here I end my blog with my favorite lines from the Krishna Bhajan.

Shri Krishna Govind Hare Murari,
Hey Nath Narayan Vasudev!!

Here are some quotes from Lord Krishna from the Bhagavad Gita
“No one who does good work will ever come to a bad end”

“Our own mind acts like an enemy if we do not control it”
“Be the best version of yourself”