Krishna Janmashtami 2025: Celebrations, Rituals, and Significance of Lord Krishna's Birth

Birth Story of Lord Krishna

Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudev in the prison of Mathura. His life was immediately in danger due to the threat posed by his maternal uncle, King Kansa of Mathura. According to a prophecy, a divine voice foretold that one of Devaki's children would be the cause of Kansa's death. Fearing this, Kansa resolved to kill all of his sister's newborn children.

To protect Krishna, Vasudev decided to secretly carry him in a basket across the Yamuna River. It was raining terribly the night Vasudev was carrying him to Vrindavan. Out of nowhere, a thousand-headed snake, "Shesh Naag" appeared and expanded his hood to form an umbrella-like structure to protect Krishna and Vasudeva.

Krishna was then raised by Yashoda and Nanda in Vrindavan.

Putna Vadh

Putna was one of the demons sent by Kansa to kill Krishna. To grab her hands on Krishna, she transformed herself into a young, beautiful lady. Stunned by her beauty, Yashoda allowed her to breastfeed her little one. During the process, the demon tried to kill Krishna by feeding "mandana" an intoxicant. The infant then squeezed her breasts, following which she screamed in pain. Putna tried to escape but Krishna took her life as well as her milk away which led her to death.

Kaliya Mardan

On a sunny day, Krishna with his mates were playing on the riverbank and that's when they heard villagers shouting for help. When they reached there a woman asked Kanha for help. Her son slipped into the river where Kaliya Naag resided. Krishna without wasting a moment jumped into the water and saw the snake demon holding the boy with his tail. Kaliya then freed the boy and started attacking Krishna by grabbing him with his tail. Little Krishna then started jumping on Kaliya Naag's head and started playing flute. He later gathered the weight of the universe and started crushing the snake demon. That's when Kaliya Naag realised that Krishna was not an ordinary human. Kaaliya Naag accepted his defeat and left the waters of Yamuna forever.

Govardhan Parvat

A time arrived when terrible rains lashed onto Vrindavan. The inhabitants ran to Krishna for help. Understanding the situation, Krishna uplifted the entire "Govardhan Parvat" on his little finger by providing shelter to the villagers. One by one, people took shelter with their families and animals. It is said that the inhabitants of Vrindavan stayed under the hill for seven days without being disturbed by hunger and thirst.

Legend of Dahi Handi

The residents of Vrindavan used to hang the pots filled with dahi (curd) high in their houses. Whenever Krishna and his friends were hungry, they used to form human pyramids to reach the handi (pot) which was out of their reach. To date, this incident is celebrated by people in India known as "Dahi Handi."

Celebrating Janmashtami 2024: Unique traditions and festivities in Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, Janmashtami is celebrated with a mix of traditional and modern festivities. Here are a few ways that people in Mumbai and Maharashtra celebrate the festival.