Krishna Janmashtami 2020: Date, time, significance and all you need to know

The festival is celebrated with much fervour in Vrindavan and Mathura. (File image: Reuters)

Janmashtami 2020 date and time:

Known popularly as Krishna Janmashtami, Gokulashtami and Janmashtami, the festival marks the birth of Lord Krishna, who is believed to be the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The annual festival is celebrated on the ashtami or the eighth day of the Krishna Paksha in the Bhadrapad month, as per the Hindu almanac. This year, the celebrations of Krishna Janmashtami are scheduled to begin on August 11. Some people are going to celebrate it on August 12.

The celebrations include people enacting dance-dramas on the life of Lord Krishna based on the Bhagavata Purana, singing devotional songs through the midnight (believed to be the time of birth of Lord Krishna) and fasting through the day. The festival is celebrated with much fervour in Vrindavan and Mathura.

According to the Hindu tradition, it is believed that Lord Krishna was born at midnight in Mathura on the ashtami of Bhadrapad while his parents Devaki and Vasudeva were held captive by his maternal uncle King Kansa. After he was born, his father Vasudeva miraculously snuck out of the jail, took Krishna across the river of Yamuna to save him from Kansa and gave him to Nanda and Yashoda, who would become his foster parents, in Gokul. As per the legend, the eighth son of Devaki was prophesied to kill him, due to his cruelty as a king, which was why Kansa had locked his sister and brother-in-law in the prison. Kansa also killed his nephews one by one until Lord Krishan was born.

That is why idols of infant Krishna are washed, clothed and placed in a cradle on the occasion of Janmashtami. After that, devotees break their fast and share foods as well as sweets.

The puja for Janmashtami is mostly conducted at midnight, and as per ritual, it includes 16 steps as part of the Shodashopachara puja vidhi.

Krishna Janmashtami 2020: What are the timings for Janmashtami puja

According to reports, the Janmashtami tithi is scheduled start on August 11, with the ashtami tithi scheduled to start at 9:06 am and end at 11:16 am on August 12. The auspicious time, according to some reports, for the midnight Nishita puja is 12:21 am to 1:06 am on August 12. Apart from that, the Dahi Handi is scheduled for August 12.