Bangalore, September 07, 2023: ISKCON Bangalore celebrated Sri Krishna Janmashtami – the divine appearance of Lord Krishna, at Hare Krishna Hill, Vaikuntha Hill and KTPO, Whitefield. Lakhs of devotees enthusiastically took part in the grand festivities.
Janmashtami festival is a time-honoured tradition where people come together to commemorate the glorious birth of Lord Krishna. The celebrations at Hare Krishna Hill (Rajajinagar) and Vaikuntha Hill (Vasanthapura) on September 6 and 7 included elaborate abhishekas, aratis, chappan bhog, pushpanjali seva and jhulan seva to Sri Radha Krishnachandra and Sri Rajagopala Rukmini Satyabhama.
Varieties of traditional food items like makhan mishri, laddu, burfi, mysore pak, holige,murukku and nippattu were prepared in the temple kitchens and offered to the Lord. Devotees participated in cultural programmes like music and dance based on Krishna lilas. The festivities concluded with an elaborate midnight abhisheka and a maha arati to the Deities. The programme was streamed live on the social media channels of ISKCON Bangalore for the benefit of devotees across the world. Prominent dignitaries and eminent personalities also visited to seek the blessings of Lord Krishna on these auspicious days. Prasadam was distributed on a large scale to all the visitors.
A beautiful video rendition of Sri Madhurashtakam – a popular devotional song composed by the great 15th-century saint Vallabhacharya glorifying the unlimited and sweet nature of Lord Sri Krishna was released on this occasion. Please click the following link for the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C4qm_rT7GY
Apart from ISKCON Bangalore’s temples at Rajajinagar and Vasanthapura, this year’s celebrations are also taking place at the prestigious KTPO (Karnataka Trade Promotion Organisation) Convention Hall in Whitefield, Bengaluru on the 7th and 8th of September. Ananda Mahotsava – a festival of joy and devotion, is being held as part of the Janmashtami festivities here. The key features of the event are Janmashtami Art, Music and Heritage Fest, Sattvic Food Festival and Bhajan Sandhya by Bhajan Samrat and Padma Shri Awardee Sri Anup Jalota.
Sri Madhu Pandit Dasa, President of ISKCON Bangalore, said, “Sri Krishna Janmashtami is a very special festival because it is the appearance day of the Supreme Lord. This is an occasion for devotees to come together and glorify the Lord, His wonderful qualities and His wonderful pastimes. It is a pleasure to see lakhs of devotees visiting our temples to have darshan of the Deities and engage in various spiritual activities. I pray to Lord Krishna to bless everyone with good health, happiness and devotion.”
