UP: Janmashtami celebrated with fanfare in Mathura

Mathura (UP): Thousands of devotees witnessed the "Abhishek" ceremony of lord Krishna at the three major temples in this Uttar Pradesh district on the occasion of Janmashtami on Thursday, officials said.

The "Abhishek" (bathing of the deity) ceremony was performed at the Radha Raman, Radha Damodar and Gokulanand temples as Janmashtami was celebrated at the birthplace of Krishna in Mathura, Balram Goswami, the priest of the Radha Damodar temple, said.

He added that while the festival is celebrated everywhere at midnight, it is celebrated during the day at these temples in accordance with the tradition set up by noted seer Jeev Goswami nearly 500 years ago.

Since the Shahji temple in Vrindavan also celebrates all the festivals in accordance with the traditions followed at the Radha Raman temple, here too, Janmashtami was celebrated in the morning, Prasant Shah, the priest of the temple, said.

At several other Krishna temples here, the "Abhishek" ceremony would be held at midnight.

The "charnamrit" (a mixture of milk, curd, ghee, khandsari, honey and herbs) of the ceremony was distributed among the devotees, the priest said.

At the Srikrishna Janmabhumi, the day started with the blowing of shehnai and the sound of conch and drum beats, followed by the "Abhishek" ceremony of the deity and the distribution of the "charnamrit" among the devotees, Kapil Sharma, secretary, Srikrishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan, said.

Thousands of pilgrims paid obeisance to the deities at the Bhagwat Bhavan temple and other temples at the Srikrishna Janmasthan.

Headed by Shailjakant Mishra, the vice-president of the Uttar Pradesh Vraj Tirth Vikas Parishad, state ministers Laxmi Narain Chaudhary and Jaiveer Singh, District Magistrate Shailendra Singh and Senior Superintendent of Police Shailesh Kumar Pandey, a procession was taken out from the Srikrishna Janmasthan. It passed through the main streets of Mathura.

The procession received a rousing reception along the route, Mishra said. The artists participating in the procession later went to different crossings of the city to perform cultural programmes related to Janmashtami, he added.

Janmashtami was also celebrated in other temples of Mathura, including the Dwarkadhish temple, Vrindavan, Govardhan and Nandgaon, public relations officer of the Dwarkadhish temple Rakesh Tewari said.

"It is invigorating to witness the Janmashtami celebrations in Mathura. One cannot experience this anywhere else," said Bimalendra Mishra, a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri who travelled to Mathura to participate in the festival.

A large number of foreign devotees of lord Krishna also paid obeisance to the deities at the ISKCON and Radha Damodar temples in Vrindavan.

Goswami said the foreigners attended a special "aarti" at the temple. According to Panchagoda Prabhu, the president of the Krishna Balaram temple (ISKCON, Vrindavan), hundreds of devotees from different countries paid obeisance to the temple deity.