Pic Janm01 Children dressed up as Krishna
Krishna Janmashtami or Gokulashtami
(18/9.08.2022)
-Rohit Kumar Parmar
Krishna Janmashtami/Janmashtami/Gokulashtami, celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, on Ashtami tithi (eighth day) of Krishna Paksha (waning or dark phase of the Moon) in Bhadrapad, corresponding to August/September of the Gregorian calendar. The festival falls when monsoon begins to retreat, fields are laden with crops and agro-rural communities have time to play.
Janmashtami is celebrated in Mathura and Vrindavan (B/Vrijbhumi); and in Assam, Manipur, West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu; and also in other states of India, and by the diaspora.
Braj language and region
Braj is derived from the Sanskrit word vraja (व्रज), mentioned in Rigveda, meaning a pasture, shelter or resort for cattle.
Braj/Vraj Bhasha/Bhāṣā/Boli or Braji is a dialect of Hindi, spoken in Brijbhoomi, a region on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan, encompassing the area including Agra, Aligarh, Etah, Farrukhabad, Hathras and Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh; Palwal and Ballabhgarh in Haryana; Bharatpur in Rajasthan; and Morena in Madhya Pradesh. Braj region is associated with Radha and Krishna who were born in Barsana and Mathura respectively.
Krishna is Devaki and Vasudeva Anakadundubhi's son. As with other Avatars, Krishna is born at a time when persecution was rampant, freedoms were denied, there was evil everywhere, and there was a threat to Krishna’s life from his tyrant maternal uncle King Kansa.
Immediately after Krishna’s birth in Mathura, his father Vasudeva takes him across the Yamuna, to Nanda and Yashoda in Gokul, who become his foster parents. In the process/exchange, the daughter of Nanda and Yashoda, Yoganidra or YogaMāya (whose name is not known to most of us) is sacrificed.
There are regional variations of the celebration of Janmashtami, respecting the local folklore.
Krishna’s childhood is full of mischief and pranks - a Makhan chor (butter thief), hiding clothes of bathing girls, and so on. Accordingly, a large part of the celebrations are linked to such stories. Parents dress up toddlers and children as Krishna. (Pic Janm01)
There are Dance-drama enactments of the life of Krishna according to the Bhagavata Purana (such as Rasa or Krishna Lila), devotional songs through midnight when Krishna was born, fasting (upavasa), a night vigil (Ratri Jagaran), and a festival (Mahotsav) on the following day.
Manipur has developed Manipuri classical dance [1] form, based on Vaishnavism themes, which like Sattriya [2] includes love-inspired dance drama arts of Radha-Krishna called Raslila. While dancers perform Raslila, youth play the Likon Sannaba game [3] in the Meitei Vaishnava community.
Pic Janm02 Manipuri Dance
Janmashtami is celebrated in Assam at homes, in community centres called Namghars (Assamese: নামঘৰ), and temples. According to tradition, devotees sing the Nam, perform pujas and share food/prasada.
The tradition of celebrating Krishna Janmashtami in eastern India is linked to the teachings of 15th and 16th century Sankardeva and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who developed philosophical ideas, and new forms of performing art to celebrate, such as Borgeet, Ankia Naat, Sattriya and Bhakti yoga.
In the region around Puri and in Nabadwip, West Bengal, people celebrate Janmashtami by fasting and worship till midnight. The Bhagavata Purana is recited from the 10th chapter, dedicated to the life of Krishna. The next day is called "Nanda Utsav" the joyous celebration of Krishna's foster parents Nanda and Yashoda.
Pic Janm03 Temple in Odisha lit up for Janmashtami
Ganga Jal (water from river Ganges) is brought to bathe Radha Madhava during the abhisheka ceremony. A grand abhisheka is performed at midnight for small Radha Madhava Deities, while food (bhoga) of more than 400 dishes is offered to the deity with devotion.
Pic Janm04 Human pyramid trying to reach Dahi Handi
Dahi Handi is a Janmashtami tradition in Mumbai and Maharashtra, when Tolis (groups) get-together and break the Dahi Handi, which is hung at a height in order to make it difficult to reach. Girls surround these boys, cheer and tease them while dancing and singing. Several “dahi-handi” events are organized on Janmashtami in Mumbai, the most popular of them being - Girgaon, Dadar, Lower Parel, Worli and Lalbaug.
In Dwarka, Gujarat – where Krishna established his kingdom, celebrations have a tradition similar to Dahi Handi, called Makhan Handi (pot with freshly churned butter). They also perform folk dances at temples, sing bhajans, visit Krishna temples such as Dwarkadhish or Nathdwara. In Kutch district/region, farmers decorate bullock carts for Krishna processions, with group singing and dancing.
In northern states, Janmashtami is celebrated in the Raslila tradition (Rasa is juice or essence and Lila is play). This could be solo or group dance or drama events, wherein Krishna related compositions are sung, music accompanies the performance, while actors and audience share and celebrate the performance by clapping hands to the beat.
In the Jammu area, kite flying is part of the celebration on Krishna Janmashtami.
Pic Janm05 Uppu Seedai
In Tamil Nadu, people decorate the floor with kolams (decorative pattern drawn with rice powder). Geetha Govindam (authored by Jayadeva) and other devotional songs are sung in praise of Krishna. They also draw footprints of Krishna from the entrance of the house till the pooja room, the path of his arrival in the house. The offerings made to Krishna include fruits, betel and butter. Savouries believed to be Krishna's favourites like Seedai, Sweet Seedai, Verkadalai Urundai are prepared.
In Andhra Pradesh, there is recitation of shlokas, and devotional songs are sung. Variety of fruits and sweets are first offered to Krishna and after puja, are distributed among devotees/visitors. Eatables along with milk and curd are prepared for offering to Krishna.
Popular south Indian temples dedicated to Krishna are Rajagopalaswamy in Mannargudi, Tiruvarur district, Pandavadhoothar in Kanchipuram, Sri Krishna in Udupi, and Krishna in Guruvayur. Legend says that the Sree Krishna Idol installed in Guruvayur was brought from Dwarka, which submerged in the sea.
In Nepal, Hindus celebrate Krishna Janmashtami by reciting Bhagavad Gita and singing religious bhajans and kirtans. The temples of Krishna are decorated and shops, posters and houses carry Krishna motifs.
In Bangladesh a procession starting from Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka, the National Temple of Bangladesh proceeds through the streets of Old Dhaka. The tradition dates 1902, which was stopped in 1948 but resumed in 1989.
A song in praise of Krishna -`O Palan Haare’
ओ पालनहारे [4]
ओ पालनहारे
निर्गुण और न्यारे,
ओ पालनहारे
निर्गुण और न्यारे,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं,
हमरी उलझन, सुलझाओ भगवन,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं ।
तुम्ही हमका हो संभाले,
तुम्ही हमरे रखवाले,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं ।
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं ।
चन्दा में तुम्ही तो भरे हो चांदनी,
सूरज में उजाला तुम्ही से,
ये गगन है मगन,
तुम्ही तो दिए हो इसे तारे,
भगवन ये जीवन,
तुम्ही ना संवारोगे,
तो क्या कोई सँवारे ।
ओ पालनहारे
निर्गुण और न्यारे,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं ।
जो सुनो तो कहें,
प्रभुजी हमरी है बिनती,
दुखी जन को, धीरज दो,
हारे नहीं वो कभी दुखसे,
तुम निर्बल को रक्षा दो,
रह पाएं निर्बल सुख से,
भक्ति को, शक्ति दो,
भक्ति को, शक्ति दो,
जग के जो स्वामी हो,
इतनी तो अरज सुनो,
हैं पथ में अंधियारे,
दे दो वरदान में उजियारे ।
ओ पालनहारे
निर्गुण और न्यारे,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं,
हमरी उलझन, सुलझाओ भगवन,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं ।
ओ पालनहारे
निर्गुण और न्यारे,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं,
हमरी उलझन, सुलझाओ भगवन,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं ।
ओ पालनहारे
निर्गुण और न्यारे,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं,
हमरी उलझन, सुलझाओ भगवन,
तुमरे बिन हमरा कौनो नाहीं ।
ओ पालनहारे,
ओ पालनहारे…
[1] Some of us would have seen/collected Manipuri dance dolls, in our showcases. These dolls are normally not used to play [2] Sattriya (Assamese: সত্ৰীয়া), or Sattriya Nritya, is a major Indian classical dance. It is a dance-drama with origins in the Krishna-centred Vaishnavism monasteries of Assam, attributed to the 15th century Bhakti movement scholar and saint Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev [3] Likon Sanaba is a traditional game played/practiced in very old days when young boys played against girls to profess their love to each other. Now, 'Likon Sanaba' has become rare and is practiced in some places and on some occasions [4] O Palan Haare lyrics in Hindi from the movie Lagaan sung by Latamangeshkar and Udit Narayan. Lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar and music composed by A. R. Rahman
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