Janmashtami 2020 Puja Vidhi, Timings: According to the Drik Panchang, this year, the celebrations will happen on August 11 and 12. The ashtami tithi begins August 11 at 09.06 am and ends August 12 at 11.16 am. (Source: Getty/Thinkstock)

Krishna Janmashtami 2020 puja vidhi, muhurat, timings, samagri, mantra: One of the most significant of all Hindu festivals, Krishna Janmashtami marks the birthday of Lord Krishna — one of the most important avatars of Lord Vishnu. The festival falls on the eighth day (ashtami) of Krishna Paksha, or the eighth day of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadon. The day is celebrated with a lot of love and reverence in many parts of the country.

Krishna Janmashtami is also known as ‘Krishnashtami’, ‘Gokulashtami’, ‘Ashtami Rohini’, ‘Srikrishna Jayanti’ and ‘Sree Jayanthi’.

Muhurat

According to the Drik Panchang, this year, the celebrations will take place on August 11 and 12. The ashtami tithi begins August 11 at 09.06 am and ends August 12 at 11.16 am. If you are looking to fast — which many devotees do — it must happen on August 11. You can break your fast at midnight, after the birth of Lord Krishna, on August 12. The puja time is between 12.05 am and 12.48 am on the day.

As mentioned earlier, many people observe fasts on the day, out of devotion for Krishna who, it is believed, walked the earth some 5,000 years ago, as one of the most powerful avatars of Lord Vishnu, the God of Preservation. He was believed to have been born in Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, to Devaki and Vasudev, and raised by foster parents Nanda and Yashoda. He had incarnated to spread the message of dharma to mankind, and to annihilate everything adharma and evil, during the Dwapar Yuga, which preceded Kali Yug.

Krishna Janmashtami is a happy occasion, and as such, people bathe in gaiety, sing devotional songs, chant mantras, listen to music and even dance. This year, because of the pandemic, many restrictions are in place. But, you can still carry out the ceremonies from the safety of your house.

Mantra

The mantra to chant is:

Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare

or

Radhe Krishna Radhe Krishna 
Krishna Krishna Radhe Radhe 

It is believed that devotees who pay their obeisance and invoke Lord Krishna in true devotion, are never disappointed.

Puja Vidhi and Samagri

According to Dr Aarti Dahiya, the founder of ‘Niyati by Aarti’, if you are doing a puja at home, make sure the idol of Lord Krishna is positioned in the northeast direction. It is imperative that the idol is decked up in hues of bright yellow and blue, and that devotees also wear these colours, as it can bring them good fortune and luck and peace.

Also Lord Krishna has to be bathed in ‘panchamrat‘, which is a mixture of honey, sugar, milk, curd, ghee, and Ganga jal. The colour of sugar, milk, curd and ghee is white, and it implies that Lord Krishna is bestowing peace on people. The sacred Ganga jal brings the mind into a state of divinity. In prasad or bhog, the idol can be offered many different food items — from milk and milk products, to fruit, kheer, pedha, churma, makhan, mishri, among other things, she says.

Keep in mind that if you are fasting, no grains should be consumed on the day of Janmashtami.