Janmashtami

God KrishnaThe holiday is celebrated in honor of the birthday of Krishna, the eighth incarnation of the great God Vishnu. According to legend, he was born at midnight on the eighth day of the month of Shravan (July-August), so during this festival the temples are decorated with illuminations and there all night pray for the glory of Krishna.

Vishnu was born in the form of Krishna to destroy the demon Kansu, who treacherously took the throne of his relatives in the kingdom of King Mathura. A voice from the sky predicted the death of the son of his own sister Devaki. He has since killed all of her children. And yet the insidious demon managed to outsmart, hiding the newborn Krishna in a neighboring tribe of shepherds. When Krishna grew up, he killed the demon.

Janmashtami is celebrated with special reverence in places where the worship of Krishna is widespread, especially in Mathura and Vrindavana, where, according to legend, Krishna’s childhood was spent. In these days, Krsna is honored as the God of dance, and therefore the main element of this festival is the theatrical scenes-pathomims “rasalila”, during which the dancing of young Krishna with young shepherds (gopi) in the moonlight is revived in memory. "Rasalils" resurrect before the eyes of the audience cheerful leprosy beloved in the people of the God-shepherd, who defeated the evil demon-child killer.