Devotees celebrate the 5251st year of Lord Krishna's birth on Janmashtami

Mumbai: A wave of devotion swept households and temples at Monday's festival of Shri Krishna Janmashtami, as they celebrated 5251 years since the lord's birth. Social media posts displayed diverse forms of this multifaceted avatar of Lord Vishnu who lifted the Govardhan mountain as easily as he picked the flute. The blue god who charmed the gopis of Vrindavan had also guided Arjun and the world by his wise counsel through the Shrimad Bhagwad Gita.
The midnight hour of Krishna's birth is the acme of devotion, and this ritual was performed from 12.17-1.03am Tuesday.
According to DrikPanchang, this year the ashtami tithi began at 3.39am Aug 26 and ended at 2.19am Aug 27. Lord Krishna was born under Rohini Nakshatra which began at 3.55 pm Aug 26 and ends today Aug 27 at 3.38 pm. It is after this that many devotees will break their fast.
Throughout Monday, thousands of devotees visited neighbourhood Krishna temples in Bandra East, near Andheri Sports Complex, Gokuldham, Malad, Borivli, Matunga, Wadala and Kalbadevi to join bhajan-kirtan, take darshan and rock the holy cradle at midnight. The monks at the Gaudiya Math in Bandra were preparing to perform the aarti followed by bhajan-kirtan. Matunga's Asthika Samaj as well as ISKCON in Girgaum Chowpatty and Juhu draw large numbers of devotees. ISKCON Chowpatty temple designed a Pichhwai style birthday outfit for its deity. State governor CP Radhakrishnan visited ISKCON Juhu to perform puja.
Vaishnav and Smart sects differ slightly in their method of worshiping Krishna. "Special sweetmeats made of milk, mawa, butter and ghee as well as curd are prepared and distributed as prasad. Pedas and dhaniya panjeeri are mostly served as offerings. The ladies of the house prepare flower garlands by hand," said Ashwin Sharma, a metal trader from Borivli.
Tuesday will witness the grand spectacle of Gopalkala or 'matki utsav'. "Most large dahi handi gatherings unfold in Thane. Big and small govinda mandals from Mumbai travel there to perform and compete," said Shreyas Chavan of the champion Shiv Sai govinda pathak, Jogeshwari. "The players are in Mumbai but the recognition is in Thane."