Krishna was a born in mathura jail of king kans. Mathura to Princess Devaki and Vasudeva, Krishna was actually brought up by Yashoda and Nanda in Vrindavan.
He is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. Lord Krishna wields extensive influence not only over Hindu Religion and its philosophy but also over Indian culture, art, literature, sculpture, mysticism and folklore.
Born nearly five thousand years ago Lord Krishna is famous for his mischievous acts and his love for makhan (butter). In fact Lord Krishna is fondly referred to as Makhan chor.
Since childhood the young Lord astonished everyone with his divine acts, some of the famous acts being lifting of the Govardhan Mountain and overpowering the Kaliya Nag in the Yamuna River.
Lord Krishna took immense pleasure in performing Rasa-lila with the Gopis. With his Radharani and other Gopis the Lord danced to glory in the autumn and Monsoon months amid the melodious flute played by him.
The affectionate god Krishna is particularly famous in Mathura, Vrindavan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. With the starting of the Hare Krishna movement pioneered by ISKCON – International Society for Krishna Consciousness, the fame and reverence for Lord Krishna has spread widely across the globe.
Now, one finds several beautiful temples of Lord Krishna all over the world. Every year on the eighth day of the dark half in the Hindu month of Shravan, ‘Janmashtami’ is celebrated to mark the birth of Lord Krishna on Earth.
Janmashtami or Krisnashtami is celebrated all over India and beyond with utmost vigor and joy. Many people fast on this occasion and break it after midnight on the birth of Lord Krishna.
The celebrations however start with ‘Dahi-handi’ during forenoon, a custom of breaking a highly placed small pot filled with butter as the makhan chor himself did.
