Krishna Janmashtami

The birth of Shri Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, at midnight in Kansa's prison in Mathura — the parv celebrates that exact hour. The vrat runs through the day and the main puja happens at nishita, the midnight of the birth, when Laddu Gopal is bathed in panchamrit, dressed in new clothes, rocked in a jhula and offered makhan-mishri. Rohini nakshatra, the star under which Krishna was born, is looked for alongside the tithi. It is a festival of jagran — homes and temples stay awake until the midnight aarti.

Next date: 2026-09-04

vidhi

Bathe in the morning, wear clean clothes, and take the sankalp of the day-long vrat before Krishna; fruit and milk may be taken as phalahar through the day.,Decorate the jhula and the puja chowki with flowers and cloth during the day, and keep Laddu Gopal's new poshak, mukut and little bansuri ready.,Spend the day in Krishna-smaran — bhajan, a reading of the birth chapters of the Bhagavata, or Om Kleem Krishnaya Namah whenever a free minute comes.,A little before midnight, bathe Laddu Gopal with panchamrit and then with pure water, and wipe him completely dry.,Dress him in the new poshak, set the mukut and morpankh, apply a chandan tilak, and seat him in the jhula.,In the nishita hour offer the bhog — makhan-mishri, dhania panjiri and a tulsi leaf — and light the ghee lamp and dhoop.,Do the janma aarti at midnight, rock the jhula gently while singing 'Nand ke ghar anand bhayo', and distribute the prasad.,Break the fast after the midnight puja with phalahar or prasad, or do the paran the next morning as your family's tradition holds.

katha

In Mathura, Kansa was driving his sister Devaki to her new home when a voice from the sky stopped him: her eighth son would be his death. He threw Devaki and Vasudev into prison that same hour, and killed their first six children as each was born. The seventh was moved to the womb of Rohini and became Balram. Then, on the Krishna Ashtami of Bhadrapada, at midnight under the Rohini nakshatra, the eighth child was born. The cell filled with light, the shackles fell open, the guards sank into sleep, and the doors unlocked themselves. Vasudev carried the newborn in a basket across the flooding Yamuna towards Gokul; Sheshnag spread his hoods as an umbrella over the child, and the river fell back after touching his feet. In Gokul he exchanged the baby for the girl just born to Yashoda and returned. When Kansa seized that girl to dash her down, she slipped from his hands, rose into the sky as Yogmaya, and said: the one who will kill you is already born, and already safe. The vrat repeats the waiting of that night — which is why the fast runs till the midnight birth.

mantra

[object Object]

samagri

A Laddu Gopal murti and a jhula,Panchamrit for the abhishek — milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar,A new poshak, mukut, morpankh and a small bansuri,Makhan-mishri and dhania panjiri for the bhog,Tulsi leaves — Krishna's bhog is held incomplete without them,Flowers, chandan, akshat and roli,Ghee lamp, dhoop and camphor for the aarti,A cucumber, in families that keep the custom of cutting it at midnight to enact the birth

Upcoming dates

Today's panchang · Aaj ka rashifal