Mathura, 07 Sept: On the celebration of Janmashtami on Thursday, thousands of worshippers observed Lord Krishna’s “abhishek” rite at three prominent temples in this Uttar Pradesh district, officials said. As Janmashtami was celebrated at Krishna’s birthplace in Mathura, “abhishek” (deity washing) ritual was held at Radha Raman, Radha Damodar, and Gokulanand temples, according to Balram Goswami, priest of Radha Damodar temple.
He explained that, while the event is observed at midnight worldwide, it is celebrated during the day at these temples in line with a practice established approximately 500 years ago by famed seer Jeev Goshwami. Because the Shahji temple in Vrindavan commemorates all holidays in line with the customs observed at the Radha Raman temple, Janmashtami was likewise celebrated in the morning, according to Prasant Shah, the temple’s priest.
The “abhishek” ritual will be done at midnight at various other Krishna temples in town. According to the priest, the ceremony’s “charnamrit” (a concoction of milk, curd, ghee, khandsari, honey, and herbs) was handed to the worshippers. The day began at the Srikrishna Janmabhumi with the blowing of shehnai and the sound of conch and drum beats, followed by the deity’s “abhishek” ritual and the distribution of the “charnamrit” among the devotees. Srikrishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan secretary Kapil Sharma stated.
Thousands of people paid their respects to the deities at the Srikrishna Janmasthan’s Bhagwat Bhavan temple and other temples.
A procession left the Srikrishna Janmasthan, led by Shailjakant Mishra, vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh Vraj Tirth Vikas Parishad, state ministers Laxmi Narain Chaudhary and Jaiveer Singh, District Magistrate Shailendra Singh, and Senior Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey. It went through Mathura’s principal streets.
According to Mishra, the procession got a raucous ovation along the road. He stated that the artists in the parade afterwards performed cultural programs relating to Janmashtami at several city crossings. Janmashtami was also observed in other Mathura temples, including the Dwarkadhish temple, Vrindavan, Govardhan, and Nandgaon, according to Rakesh Tewari, public relations officer of the Dwarkadhish temple.
“It’s energizing to see the Janmashtami celebrations in Mathura. You can’t get this anywhere else,” said Bimalendra Mishra, a Lakhimpur Kheri native who traveled to Mathura to attend the event.
A significant number of overseas Krishna devotees paid their respects to the deities at the ISKCON and Radha Damodar temples in Vrindavan. According to Goswami, the foreigners attended a special “aarti” at the shrine. Hundreds of devotees from many nations paid respect to the temple deity, according to Panchagoda Prabhu, president of the Krishna Balaram temple (ISKCON, Vrindavan).
