A young boy dressed as Krishna participates in a competition during Janmashtami festivities at a temple in Kolkata yesterday.
New Delhi/Kolkata: Devotees of Krishna yesterday bathed baby Krishna idols in milk and honey, while enthusiastic followers formed human pyramids to break “dahi handis”, as they celebrated Janmashtami, the 5,239th birthday of one of Vishnu’s avatars.
Men, women and children of all ages, unperturbed by the humid weather, prayed at brightly decked-up temples, decorated with banana leaves, flowers and colourful lights.
In the national capital, hundreds of people turned up at Birla Mandir, Iskcon and Gouri Shankar temples.
In Kolkata, artistically-crafted tableaux by the Marwari, Gujarati and Bihari communities depicted the infant form of Krishna, while a giant “jhoola” (swing) with baby Krishna put up by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon) in the city, drew thousands of visitors.
“It’s a ritual for our family to visit the temple early morning after the ‘mangla arti’ to seek Krishna’s blessings on this auspicious day,” said 42-year-old Vishal Seekri, who prayed at the Birla Mandir in Delhi along with his family.
Children dressed up as Krishna, with flute in hand and peacock feather stuck in their headbands.
Ravindra Nagar, head priest of Birla Mandir, told IANS that the temple was expecting around 500,000 devotees during the day.
“Panjiri” and “panchamrit” — two milk-based delicacies — and fresh fruit were the most common “prasad”.
Temple priests said festivities peak near midnight when Krishna is believed to have been born. IANS
