Janmashtami Special
This Janmashtami learn more about Lord Krishna and the importance of Dahihandi in India.
According to Hindu belief, when there is evil in the world, God himself will take on human form to remove evil from the world and lead people back to the right path. The God Vishnu has always incarnated to ensure the preservation of mankind. Lord Krishna is his 8th incarnation. The celebration of Janmashtami is one of the oldest most widely celebrated festivals in India. It is a Hindu festival which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki. The night he was born, Vasudeva crossed the Yamuna River gave the baby to Yashoda and Nanda in Gokul. Vasudeva wanted to save Krishna from Kansa a cruel King who believed that Krishna would grow up to kill him.
Krishna grew up in Gokul, where everyone loved him and believed that he had powers to remove evil from the world. Whenever there was a bad situation in the village, Krishna always saved everyone with his wisdom and knowledge. This is why people started celebrating his birthday in a grand way as believed it was a very good day. This then spread to different parts of India. This tradition is being followed to this day.To celebrate the festival, all the Lord Krishna temples are decorated, processions, bhajans, kirtan and satsang meetings are organised. On the first Devotees put swings in their homes and place God's idol inside. The idol is bathed in milk and honey and adorned with jewellery and new clothes.
As a kid Lord Krishna was named "Makhanchor" or the one who steals butter. He used to steal butter from every household of Gokul. Dahi Handi is an event where the same butter stealing activity of Lord Krishna is narrated. All the local young guys gather to make a human pyramid and climb on each other to reach the handi and break it. The Handi is 20-30 feet off the ground. This is an activity that teaches the team work principles. Dahi handis have become very commercial. Organisers offer lakhs of rupees if any group is successful in breaking the handis. These days there are all women groups as well that participate. The main significance of this festival lies in encouraging the goodwill, togetherness and discouraging the bad will. This festival is the celebration of a benevolent god for his intelligence. The celebration unites people and promotes unity and teamwork. Just like how the groups work together to break the handi, we all must work to
