Krishna Janmashtami

This celebration is particularly important as it is on this day that Vishnu incarnated as Krishna, during the last Dwapara Yuga, as a child of Devaki and Vasudeva. People celebrate, by making elaborate preparations for Krishna, offering him his favorite sweets.

Month : Shravan or Aavani / Aug-Sep

Paksha : Krishna Paksha

Things to Buy for Janmastami

• An image or idol of Krishna
• Ingredients and requirements for the neivedya
• The standard pooja accoutrements
• Decorations for the pooja
• Sweets to distribute to friends, family and business associates
• Preferred fruits
• Preferred flowers and leaves
• Tulasi leaves in plenty
• Coral flowers (parijatha) for archana
• Nandhyavattai
• Whatever else is available for the deity at home

Special prayers

• Dhyana shlokam from the Mahabharata
• Any songs, bhajans or shlokams on Krishna
• The Krishna ashtotaram, 108 names of Krishna

Neivedya

Krishna was brought up by a cowherd. Milk and milk products, freshly churned butter and sweets were his favorites. The basic neivedya includes:

• A salver with betel leaves, betel nuts, yellow bananas and an unbroken coconut
• Curd
• Milk
• Butter/fresh cream
• Avil, beaten rice

In addition, Tamizh families make:

• Sweet seedai
• Salt seedai
• Appam
• Vadai
• Payasam
• Maha neivedyam
• Theratipaal
• Murukku

Other sweets like the somasi (sweet somas), which are much like the kadubu, laddu, Mysore pak, avil payasam, badam kheer, thenkuzhal, are also choices.

Kannadiga and Telugu families make at least five savouries and five sweets:

• Kadubu
• Avil payasam Kesari
• Kosumbari—two varieties
• Chigili (ellu) unde/ Similie urundai
• Sweet poha
• Pancha kajjaya
• Other options include chakli, kodubale, chirotee (sweet), rava unde, koonavadai: horse-shoe-shaped kalkal, huliavil (puli avil).

Menu

Breakfast with all the delicious neivedya eaten as prasaadam.

Food norms

Fast until the pooja is done at night.

Auspicious ‘vishesham’ things to do

Create wet kolam paste out of rice flour and draw feet from the front door all the way to the pooja as though baby Krishna has run into the house. Celebrate Krishna’s birth after sunset or preferably at midnight.

Associated Legends

The birth of a smiling child

Associated events

The ‘kol attam’ dance with sticks or kol.

Bhagavad Gita parayanam: traditional recitation of the holy book.

Bhajan groups singing devotional songs.
Get organised

Get the house cleaned and ready.

Install your festoons and make your decorations.

Prepare the pooja and pooja-related accouterments.

Decide the menu and prepare for the meal and neivedya.

In the next post we will see about celebrations, significance and rituals