Janmashtami celebrated with pomp and gaiety across India

Mathura/Mumbai: Janmashtami was celebrated with much fanfare across the country on Thursday, with thousands of devotees thronging the major temples in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, the birthplace of Lord Krishna.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people on the occasion. He wished new energy and enthusiasm in the lives of “every member of my family”, a reference to citizens. “Jai Shri Krishna,” Modi added in his post on X.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit the ISKCON temple at East of Kailash in south Delhi and perform a pooja, sources said.

The festival celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna.

Thousands of devotees witnessed the “abhishek” (bathing of the deity) ceremony of Lord Krishna at the Radha Raman, Radha Damodar and Gokulanand temples in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

Balram Goswami, the priest of the Radha Damodar temple, said while the festival is celebrated at midnight everywhere, it is celebrated during the day at the three major Mathura temples in accordance with the tradition set up by noted seer Jeev Goshwami nearly 500 years ago.

Since the Shahji temple in Vrindavan also celebrates all the festivals in accordance with the traditions followed at the Radha Raman temple, there too, Janmashtami was celebrated in the morning, the priest of the temple, said.

At the Srikrishna Janmabhumi, the day started with the blowing of shehnai and the sound of conch and drum beats, followed by the “abhishek” of the deity and the distribution of the “charnamrit” among the devotees. Thousands of devotees paid obeisance to the deities at the Bhagwat Bhavan temple and other temples at the Srikrishna Janmasthan.

Headed by Shailjakant Mishra, the vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh Vraj Tirth Vikas Parishad, state ministers Laxmi Narain Chaudhary and Jaiveer Singh, District Magistrate (DM) Shailendra Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shailesh Kumar Pandey, a procession was taken out from the Srikrishna Janmasthan. It passed through the main streets of Mathura.

Janmashtami was also celebrated at the Dwarkadhish temple, Vrindavan, Govardhan and Nandgaon. “It is invigorating to witness the Janmashtami celebrations in Mathura. One cannot experience this anywhere else,” said Bimalendra Mishra, a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri who travelled to Mathura to participate in the festival.

A large number of foreigner devotees of Lord Krishna also paid obeisance to the deities at the ISKCON and Radha Damodar temples in Vrindavan.

According to Panchagoda Prabhu, the president of the Krishna Balaram temple (ISKCON, Vrindavan), hundreds of devotees from different countries paid obeisance to the temple deity. The Mathura district administration has decided to limit the number of devotees inside the Bankey Bihari temple to avoid overcrowding and stampede-like situations.

The decision was taken to prevent any untoward incident. Two devotees were killed and seven injured in a stampede at the temple during Janmashtami celebrations in August last year.

It has been decided to allow only 500 devotees, including the acharyas (goswami) of the temple, during the “mangala aarti” slated for post midnight, officials said. With pti inputs