Janamashtami celebrated with fervour and gaiety across the country

New Delhi, Sept 4 (UNI) Janamashtami, the festival marking the birth of Lord Krishma, was celebrated with religious fervour and enthusiasm across the country today with thousands of devotees thronging temples since early morning.

Temples were adorned for midnight 'pooja' and Jhulanotsava in Mathura, the birth place of Lord Krishna. Vrindavan, Govardhan, Gokul, Baldev and Barsana were resounding with holy chants of ''Jai Shri Krishna'' and ''Nand Ke Anand Bhayo Jai Kanhaiyyalal Ki''.

Lakhs of devotees flocked the Keshav Dev temple in Mathura, said to be built on the site of Lord's Krishna's birthplace, an underground prison, for 'darshan' of 'Bal Gopal ', the idol of baby Krishna, beautifully adorned in colourful attire and 'bijou' jewellery.

Programmes, such as 'Gorang Leela' and 'Ramleela' were organised on this auspicious occasion, witnessed by devotees, from India and overseas.

The festival is being celebrated with great fanfare at Vrindavan, the land connecting North with South.

'Puja and archana' will commence at mid-night, when 'Bal Gopal' is bathed in milk, yoghurt, honey and gangajal.

The festival was also celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

People flocked to various Krishna temples in the region and offered prayers. There was a large rush of devotees at the historical temples in Kurukshetra and other places.

Cultural programmes and 'bhajans' were organised as part of the celebrations. Children dressed as ''Bal Krishna' were cynosure of all eyes. Devotees performed ''Gau pooja'' to cows on the occasion.

Janamashtami was celebrated in Mumbai, the commercial capital of the country, with chants of ''Govinda Ala Re'' echoing in the air.

An euphoric atmosphere prevailed in the city with young boys making their own teams of their ''mandals'' and trying their level best to break as many ''handis'' as possible and, of course, earning the prize money for their feat. It is a popular belief among devotees that the broken pieces of the pot, if kept in the house, will help keep away negative powers and rats.

Dahi Handi is an enactment of Lord Krishna's efforts to steal butter from ''Matka (earthen pot)'' suspended from the ceiling.

The other celebrations of Janmashtami, included a number of ceremonies like Raslila, Jhankis (tableaux), and others.

Devotees today thronged temples in Delhi to celebrate Janmashtami for which elaborate security arrangements were put in place.

Huge crowds gathered at all major temples, including the Laxmi Narayan temple (Birla Mandir), ISKCON and Adhya Katyani Shakti Peeth, from mid-night.

Police had made elaborate security arrangements for the day.

Entry into the temples premises was made through DFMDs, installed on gates. Devotees were not allowed to carry handbags, briefcases, parcels or any other battery operated equipment into the temples.

Special traffic arrangements were also made around the temples.

The festival was celebrated with great fanfare in Manipur also.

Hundreds of devotees started pouring in at the Shri Govindajee Temple of ISKCON here since early morning to celebrate the birth of Lord Krishna.

Janmastami was also celebrated in Andhra Pradesh. People thronged in large numbers at various Krishna temples, including the one constructed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in the busy Abids area. Special poojas were performed on the occasion.

UNI