Kṛshṇa Janmāshṭamī Vrata
Kṛshṇa Janmāshṭamī Vrata · kṛshṇa janma-ashṭamī vrata, “the vow of the eighth day of Kṛshṇa’s birth”
Kṛshṇa Janmāshṭamī is the vrata kept for the birth of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. He was born at midnight on Bhādrapada Kṛshṇa Ashṭamī, under Rohiṇī nakshatra, when Sūrya was in Siṃha rāśi and Candra in Vṛshabha rāśi. The Bhavishya Purāṇa (Uttara Parva, Chapter 55) gives its fullest account, told by Bhagavān Kṛshṇa himself to Yudhishṭhira. The Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa and the Padma Purāṇa also teach it. The Agni Purāṇa (Chapter 183) gives it first among the ashṭamī vratas and says that because Śrī Kṛshṇa descended at midnight on this ashṭamī joined with Rohiṇī, the day is called Jayantī.
One keeping of this vrata destroys the pāpa (sin) of seven births and brings every auspicious thing to the household.
The origin of the vrata
After Kaṃsa was killed in Mathurā, Kṛshṇa‘s devotees saw the tears of joy of his parents Vasudeva and Devakī at being united with their sons. They asked Bhagavān Kṛshṇa: “The evil Kaṃsa has been slain and you have brought peace and happiness to our lives. Please tell us your birth-tithi, so that we may keep it as a great festival year after year.”
With Vasudeva’s leave, Bhagavān Kṛshṇa gave the teaching. He said:
“My birthday will become renowned as Janmāshṭamī, the Ashṭamī of righteous beings, the essential vrata for all who follow dharma. On Bhādrapada Kṛshṇa Ashṭamī, at midnight, when Sūrya is in Siṃha and Candra is in Vṛshabha, under Rohiṇī nakshatra, I was born. As long as you perform this vrata, the world will flourish in health and peace.”
Source for this section: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 55.
The Sūtikā-gṛha
The central observance is to build and decorate a Sūtikā-gṛha, a ceremonial birth chamber, made to look like the holy Gokula. It should hold these things:
- Gopas and gopikās shown in the chamber
- Bells, mṛdaṅgas, śaṅkhas (conches) and maṅgala-kalaśas (auspicious pots), the signs of Gokula
- At the entrance, as guards: a sword, a black goat (kṛshṇa-chāga), a muśala (pestle) and other auspicious emblems
- On the walls: the svastika and other maṅgala signs
- On the walls and ceiling: pictures of devas, grahas, nāgas and vidyādharas showering flowers on Kṛshṇa
- Vasudeva, shown as a form of Kaśyapa Maharshi, holding a sword ready
- Kaṃsa‘s servants shown in deep sleep
- Pictures of cows, elephants, dancing apsaras and gandharvas
- The Kālindī pond with Kāliya in its middle
In the centre of the Sūtikā-gṛha, on a bed, is the image of Devakī, half reclining in a meditative pose like a tapasvinī (a woman of tapas) in gentle sleep. Beside her is the infant Bālakṛshṇa, nursing. Yaśodā is shown separately, standing with a girl-child.
The Sūtikā-gṛha is decorated according to the devotee’s means. The mūrti of Kṛshṇa may be of gold, silver, copper, brass, wood or clay, or even painted, whatever one can afford.
Source for this section: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 55.
The pūjā
Devakī pūjā
Devakī is worshipped with gandha (scent), pushpa (flowers), akshata (unbroken rice), dhūpa (incense), nārīkela (coconut), dāḍima (pomegranate) and all the fruits of the season that can be had in that region. This dhyāna-śloka is used:
Gāyadbhiḥ kinnarādyaiḥ satatapariṛvtā veṇuvīṇā ninādaiḥ |
bhṛṅgārādarśa kumbhapramarakṛtakaraiḥ sevyamānā munīndraiḥ ||
paryaṅke svāstṛteyā mudita taramanāḥ putriṇī samyagāste |
sā devī devamātā jayati suvadanā devakī kāntarūpā ||
Lakshmī Devī is then meditated upon as pressing the feet of her mother-in-law Devakī. Devakī is worshipped with the mantra:
Namo devyai mahādevyai śivāyai satataṃ namaḥ
Mantras for each figure
- Oṃ Devakyyai namaḥ
- Oṃ Vāsudevāya namaḥ
- Oṃ Balabhadrāya namaḥ
- Oṃ Śrī Kṛshṇāya namaḥ
- Oṃ Subhadrāyai namaḥ
- Oṃ Nandāya namaḥ
- Oṃ Yaśodāyai namaḥ
Candra pūjā at moonrise
The moon is worshipped, and arghya is offered with this śloka:
Kshīrodārṇava saṃbhūta atinetra samudbhava |
gṛhāṇārghyaṃ śaśāṅkendo rohiṇyā sahito mama ||
Mantra for the snāna of Kṛshṇa’s mūrti
Yogeśvarāya yoga saṃbhavāya yogapataye Govindāya namo namaḥ
Mantra for the naivedya
Viśvāya viśveśvarāya viśvasaṃbhavāya viśvapataye Govindāya namo namaḥ
At midnight and after
At midnight, a Vasordharā (a stream of liquid heated with ghee) is offered to Shashṭhī Devī. The nāmakāraṇa (naming rite) and other saṃskāras done at that hour bring special puṇya.
On the Navamī after Janmāshṭamī, Bhagavatī Devī is worshipped in the same way, and the utsava (festival) goes on.
Source for this section: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 55.
The dhyāna-śloka
Bhagavān Vishṇu is contemplated in this form:
Anaghaṃ vāmanaṃ śauriṃ vaikuṇṭhaṃ purushottamam |
Vāsudevaṃ hṛshīkeśaṃ mādhavaṃ madhusūdhanam ||
Vārāhaṃ puṇḍarīkākshaṃ nṛsiṃhaṃ brāhmaṇapriyam |
Dāmodaraṃ padmanābhaṃ keśavaṃ garuḍadhvajam ||
Govindamacyutaṃ kṛshṇam anantam aparājitam ||
Source for this section: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 55.
The phala
The pāpa of seven births is destroyed by one keeping of this vrata. A household that keeps the Devakī vrata without a break will have no deaths of children, no untimely deaths, no failed crops and no hardships. No misfortune enters the house where this vrata is kept: no untimely death, no miscarriage, no widowhood, no ill luck and no quarrel. Even a single keeping leads to Vishṇuloka.
Bhagavān Kṛshṇa says: “Wherever this festival is kept without a break, there will be no deaths of infants, no untimely deaths, no drought and no famine.”
Source for this section: Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 55.
Janmāshṭamī in the Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa
Chapter 8 of the Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa gives the Janmāshṭamī vrata within the account of Kṛshṇa’s birth itself. Nārāyaṇa Muni tells it to Nārada.
The vrata is kept on Śrāvaṇa Kṛshṇa Ashṭamī, the tithi of Kṛshṇa’s birth. The main acts are:
- Complete fasting on Ashṭamī
- Worship of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa through the whole night
- Breaking the fast after midnight, when the moment of Kṛshṇa’s birth is kept
- Keeping Navamī, with pāraṇa (the breaking of the fast)
The Purāṇa says that one who keeps this vrata with sincerity receives freedom from the cycle of saṃsāra, the puṇya of all tīrthas, the dissolving of the pāpa of a hundred births, and in the end Kṛshṇa’s own abode.
The chapter also tells the glory of the birth tithi itself. Śrāvaṇa Kṛshṇa Ashṭamī is among the most auspicious moments in all of time, because at that moment Parabrahman himself chose to enter the world.
Source for this section: Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8.
Janmāshṭamī in the Agni Purāṇa
Agni Deva said: “I shall now describe the vratas kept on the ashṭamī tithi. The first of them is the vrata of the ashṭamī joined with Rohiṇī.”
Jayantī
In the kṛshṇa paksha of Bhādrapada, on the ashṭamī joined with Rohiṇī nakshatra, at midnight, Śrī Kṛshṇa descended into the world. Therefore this ashṭamī is called Jayantī. One who fasts on that day is freed from the pāpas done in seven births. On this ashṭamī one fasts and worships Śrī Kṛshṇa, and the vrata gives bhukti (enjoyment in this world) and mukti (moksha).
The pūjā and its mantras
- Āvāhana (invocation): “I invoke and worship Śrī Kṛshṇa, Balarāma, Devakī, Vasudeva, Yaśodā and the cows. Namaskāra to you all. Namaskāra to Śrī Kṛshṇa, who is the form of yoga, Yogapati, Yogeśvara. Again and again I bow to Govinda, the first cause and the birthplace of yoga.”
- Snāna and arghya: having invoked him so, the devotee bathes Śrī Kṛshṇa and gives arghya, saying: “Yajñeśvara! Yajñarūpa! Yajñādhipati! First cause of yajña! Govinda! Namaskāra to you again and again.”
- Flowers and dhūpa: “Deva! Accept these fragrant flowers dear to you. O you who are worshipped by the devas, fulfil all my desires. You are ever fragrant with dhūpa; take the fragrance of this dhūpa I offer, and make me always rich with its fragrance.”
- Dīpa (the lamp): “O Śrī Kṛshṇa! You ever shine like a lamp; you give the lamp its light. Accept this great lamp I give and make me, like the lamp, one whose course is upward. Viśvarūpa, Viśvapati, Viśveśvara, Śrī Kṛshṇa, namaskāra to you. To Śrī Govinda, the first cause of the universe, I give this lamp.”
- Śayana (laying Śrī Kṛshṇa to rest): “Namaskāra to Vāsudeva, the form of dharma, the lord of dharma, the first seat of dharma. Govinda, now lie down to rest. Again and again namaskāra to Govinda, Sarvarūpa, Sarvādhipati, Sarveśvara, the first cause of all.”
- Arghya to Candra: “O Śaśāṅka, born from the ocean of milk, born from the eye of Atri, form of tejas! Together with Rohiṇī accept the arghya I give.”
- Then the mūrti of Śrī Kṛshṇa is set on the vedi, and Rohiṇī is worshipped together with Candra.
- At midnight, Vasudeva, Devakī, Nanda, Yaśodā and Balarāma are bathed with streams of milk mixed with jaggery and ghee.
- Then brāhmaṇas are fed and given garments, gold and the like as dakshiṇā.
The phala
One who keeps the Janmāshṭamī vrata gains the joy of sons and dwells in Vishṇuloka. One who keeps it every year, desiring a son, is freed from the naraka called Put. At the end the devotee prays:
“O Govinda! Give me sons, wealth, long life, health and progeny. Give me dharma, kāma, saubhāgya, svarga and moksha.”
Source: Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 183
Janmāshṭamī in the Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa
The Brahma Khaṇḍa of the Padma Purāṇa teaches Janmāshṭamī in two chapters.
Chapter 4
Brahmā tells Nārada that Kṛshṇa Janmāshṭamī is the foremost of the six great Jayantī dates. It equals a crore of yajñas and countless holy places. The eighth day of the bright fortnight of Bhādrapada, joined with Rohiṇī, is named as the holy birth-tithi.
The vow is to be kept every year. One keeps awake at night, and worships separately with sandal, flowers and offerings of food. Brahmā also says: “I have not seen in the Vedas or the Purāṇas a vow equal or superior to the vow of Kṛshṇa-Rādhāshṭamī.” One who keeps the Rādhā-Kṛshṇāshṭamī with his wife, in both fortnights of Bhādrapada, reaches the nearness of Bhagavān Vishṇu.
(Padma Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 4)
Chapter 13
This chapter tells the birth of Bhagavān Kṛshṇa. The Earth is crushed by Kaṃsa and by wicked kings. Vasudeva carries the newborn Kṛshṇa across the Yamunā, which parts at the touch of Bhagavān Vishṇu, to Gokula. There he is laid beside Yaśodā’s newborn daughter Pārvatī-devī.
The account of King Citrasena is set in this chapter. He had done great pāpa, yet he kept the Janmāshṭamī vow without meaning to. Caṇḍāla girls would not let him eat on the holy Jayantī day, and so he kept the fast. Because of it he reached the abode of Bhagavān Vishṇu together with his dead ancestors. The caṇḍāla girls told him: “On the day of Janmāshṭamī, sacred to Vishṇu, you should not eat. He who while alive has not kept the Jayantī fast goes to Yama‘s abode.”
(Padma Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapter 13)
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Uttara Parva, Chapter 55
- Brahma Vaivarta Purāṇa, Śrī Kṛshṇa Janana Khaṇḍa, Chapter 8
- Padma Purāṇa, Brahma Khaṇḍa, Chapters 4 and 13
- Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 183