NEW DELHI/MATHURA,
Aug 10:
Chants of ‘Hare Krishna Hare Rama’ and ‘Govinda ala re’ reverberated the air on Janmashtami today as devotees gripped by festive fervour thronged decked-up temples and took out colourful processions across the country to mark the birth of Lord Krishna.
Janmashtami’s ‘dahi handi’ celebrations, however, turned tragic in Maharashtra’s Raigad district where a 19-year-old was killed while over 70 revellers were injured in other parts of the state.
Amid blowing of conch shells and beating of drums, worshippers offered prayers since early morning in temples where special religious discourses, ‘Krishnalila’ or dance dramas and community kitchens were held. Tight security arrangements were made for the festival and additional security personnel were deployed in sensitive places.
Lakhs of pilgrims paid obeisance in the main temples of Mathura, the birth place of Krishna, Vrindavan, Nandgaon, Mahaban and Baldeo, and performed circumambulation of hillock Goverdhan. The temples of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), which celebrate the festival with great fervour and pomp, too attracted large congregations.
Bathing ceremony of the deity-‘Abhishek’-was performed with milk, curd, honey, ghee and khandsari amid chanting of vedic hymns. ‘Baal-Gopal’ (Baby Krishna) was placed in swings, which were ceremonially swayed by devotees in the temples.
Thousands of people poured into the streets in Mumbai and other cities for ‘dahi handi’ festivities with youngsters moving around in processions and making human pyramids to break the pots filled with butter or curd, which are hung at a considerable height, to win prize money.
Teenager Durvas Patil was killed after he fell from a six-level human pyramid at Dighi village in Raigad district, police said.
Elsewhere, in Mumbai and adjoining Thane, over 70 persons sustained injuries during the celebrations, civic officials said.
The event is inspired by the mythological tale of Lord Krishna’s boy-hood trick of stealing butter from a suspended earthen pot.
This year’s festivities were also marked by rising cash prizes and presence of Bollywood personalities, lending a glamour quotient to the annual event.
Rains failed to dampen spirits of devotees who thronged temples in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Devotees also observed day-long fast and the celebrations peak at midnight when Krishna was said to have been born. (PTI)
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