Celebrations of Janmashtami Festival

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The Ceremony of Dahi-Handi

The more popular ceremony of Dahi-handi (breaking a pot full of milk and its derivatives} takes place on the second day.

 During this ceremony a large earthenware pot is filled with milk, curds, butter, honey fruits etc. and is suspended from a height between 20 to 40 feet. Sporting young men and boys come forward to claim this prize.

To do so they construct a human pyramid by standing over each other's shoulders till the pyramid is tall enough to enable the topmost person to reach the pot and claim the contents after breaking it.

This ceremony replicates Krishna's love for milk and butter.Every day after the men and women left for their farms, the naughty and adventurous Krishna along with a band of his mates would build a human pyramid and plunder the caskets of milk and butter.

In his childhood, Lord Krishna along with his mates used to raid the houses of his neighbours in search of milk and butter.

Janam Ashtami is celebrated with great pomp and show in temples and homes. Krishna is the one who has given us the life-enduring message of the great

Fast /Varat:Most families keep a fast on this day, but one meal is allowed. This is known as phalar, and consists of fruit, mithai, curd, (kuttu) Singhare-ki-Puri. This phalar is taken in the afternoon (around 2-3 p.m.) along with tea and coffee as they are not forbidden and can be taken at any time of the day.

The birth of Krishna is welcomed at midnight by the gentleman or the lady of the house by applying the teeka and then doing puja .In the evening, the family members gather together and sit down in the room where all the decoration has been done, and sing bhajans in praise of the good Lord Krishna. "Om Jai Jagdish Hare.".is sung on this night as arti. Prasad and charnamrit are then distributed to all present.