Silk robes and lavish Chhappan Bhog feasts mark two-day festival of Krishna Janmashtami | Mumbai News – Times of India

MUMBAI: The two-day festival of Shri Krishna Janmashtami spanning September 6-7 celebrates 5,250 years since the birth of the blue god. Lord Krishna remains an eternal guiding light for leaders and nations by his wise counsel of duty and justice through the Bhagvad Gita.
At the midnight hour of his birth, devotees bathe the idol in ‘panchamrit’, dress it in new silken robes, lay it down gently in a flower bedecked cradle and offer Chhappan Bhog or 56 choice delicacies while singing hymns.
The exquisite Dwarkadhish Haveli in Vile Parle performs all elaborate rituals according to the Pushti Marg sect.
Spokesman Ketan Joshi said, “Lord Krishna was born at midnight in Mathura but he reached Gokul at 12.39 am under the Rohini Nakshatra. So we will celebrate Janmashtami at 12.39 am under Rohini Nakshatra on the intervening night of Thursday-Friday. We bathe Shri Krishna in Shaligram form using panchamrit, perform the aarti and Gokul Leela, place offerings and invite qualified kirtankars to sing kirtans and folk songs in the classic style of the Vaishnav sect. This music uses minimal instruments, just the jhaanjh, tabla and dafli.”
In Shrikrishna Nagar, Borivli (E), the 54-year-old Shrikrishna Mandir observed the Janmotsav Wednesday midnight. “We began with the holy abhishek. A large decoration of fruits was placed before the deity amid lights and flowers,” said Sudhir Amdekar, chairman of the temple trust. “On Thursday we will organise 22 dahi handis within our housing colony. All will be at a low height of just two tiers so that even girls can attempt to break the pot. A palkhi will be led around the colony in the evening.”
ISKCON temples in Juhu and Girgaum Chowpatty celebrate Janmashtami on a lavish scale. At Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple in Juhu, the Muslim ‘tailor master’ has been avidly designing new dresses for Lord Krishna. “We plan to distribute five lakh cups of khichdi or halwa prasad to devotees, and two lakh plates of hot prasad meals to life patrons and all personnel on duty,” said spokesperson Parijata Devi.
ISKCON’s Radha Gopinath temple in Chowpatty has designed two satin silk outfits for the idol embellished with Swarovski swans. Its elaborate Chhappan Bhog and 1008 litre Mahabhishek are offered with devotion, said spokesperson Lucky Kulkarni.