Janmashtami is kept with a fast through the day and a puja at midnight, when Laddu Gopal, the infant Krishna, is bathed in panchamrit, dressed in new clothes, placed in a decorated cradle and offered butter and sweets. In short: take a sankalp in the morning, fast till midnight, decorate the jhula in the evening, sing and hear the katha as the night deepens, do the abhishek and aarti at nishita kaal, then share the prasad and break the fast.
Which night to keep, both the Smarta and the Vaishnava way, and the midnight window for your city are on the Janmashtami date page. No times are repeated here, because they change with the city and the year.
Samagri: what to keep ready
- An idol of Laddu Gopal (Bal Gopal) or a picture of the infant Krishna
- A small jhula (cradle or swing), with flowers, leaves, small bells, a soft cushion
- New clothes for Laddu Gopal (a small poshak), a mukut, a flute, a little peacock feather, a necklace
- For panchamrit: milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar; Ganga jal and plain water
- A bowl or tray to bathe the idol in, and a soft cloth to dry him
- Tulsi leaves, picked the day before
- Sandalwood paste, kumkum, akshat, yellow and fragrant flowers
- Ghee lamp, incense, camphor, a conch and a bell
- Makhan-mishri: fresh white butter with rock sugar
- Dhaniya panjiri: coriander powder roasted in ghee with sugar and dry fruit, the traditional fast prasad
- Fruit, especially cucumber in many northern homes, and milk sweets
- Material for the jhanki, if the family makes one: small figures, a blue cloth for the Yamuna, a toy snake for Shesha
The steps
- Morning bath and sankalp. Bathe and take a sankalp with a little water in the hand, saying in your own words that you are keeping the Janmashtami fast for Krishna until his birth at midnight.
- The day. Keep the fast you have chosen (below). Clean the house and the puja corner; many families wash the doorstep and draw small footprints walking in.
- Decorate the cradle. In the afternoon or evening, decorate the jhula with flowers and leaves, and set up the jhanki if you make one. Lay out the new clothes and the bhog.
- Evening. Light the lamp at dusk and do a short evening aarti. Many families visit a Krishna temple and return.
- Bhajan and katha. As the night deepens, gather the family. Sing bhajans and read the Janmashtami katha, timing it so that the birth comes close to midnight.
- The birth, at nishita kaal. When nishita kaal begins, blow the conch and ring the bell. Place Laddu Gopal in the bathing bowl.
- Abhishek. Bathe him first with water, then with milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar in turn, or with the panchamrit mixed, and finally with Ganga jal and plain water. Keep the panchamrit aside as prasad. Dry him gently.
- Shringar. Dress him in the new clothes, put on the mukut, the necklace and the flute, apply a little sandalwood, and place him in the cradle.
- Bhog. Offer makhan-mishri, dhaniya panjiri, fruit and sweets, with a tulsi leaf on each offering.
- Aarti and jhula. Sing the aarti, often Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki, and let each person in the family rock the cradle in turn. Many homes sing a birth song of congratulation (badhai) here.
- Breaking the fast. Share the panchamrit and the prasad. Most families break the fast after the midnight puja; some wait until the next morning, after sunrise, as their tradition holds.
Choosing your fast
- Nirjala: no food or water until the midnight puja; kept by some devotees.
- Phalahar: fruit, milk, curd, makhana, sabudana, potato, singhara or kuttu flour with rock salt. This is the most common.
- Without grain: one fast meal in the day and no grain until the puja.
Children, pregnant women, the unwell and older people keep the day with water, fruit and milk, or without fasting at all. A doctor's advice comes first.
Checking the time
Two things matter. The first is which day: Smarta calendars keep the night on which Ashtami prevails at midnight, while ISKCON and many Vaishnava communities follow Ashtami at sunrise with Rohini nakshatra, which often falls a day later; the date page explains both. The second is nishita kaal, the eighth muhurta of the night, falling around local midnight; this is when the abhishek is done, and it differs by several minutes from city to city. The panchang shows when Ashtami and Rohini begin and end. On this night the moon rises late, and some families in the north offer it water as well; the moonrise times give it for your city.
Customs families keep
These are customs, not conditions; your family's own way comes first.
- Grain is avoided until the puja, and many homes keep onion and garlic out of the kitchen for the day.
- Tulsi is placed on every bhog, because Krishna is said not to accept food without it.
- Children are dressed as Krishna and Radha, with a flute and a peacock feather.
- Cucumber is cut at midnight in some northern homes, as a symbol of the birth.
- The jhula stays decorated for a few days, and Laddu Gopal is rocked each evening.
- Some families keep the next day as Nandotsav, distributing sweets and gifts as Nanda did.
Regional ways
- Mathura and Vrindavan: the largest celebrations, with temples open through the night, jhankis, and Nandotsav the next morning.
- Maharashtra: the next day is Gopalkala, and teams of young men (govindas) form human pyramids to break the Dahi Handi, a pot of curd hung high above the street.
- Gujarat: Dwarka keeps the night with great crowds, and many homes play games and sing through the evening.
- South India: Gokulashtami or Sri Jayanti, with small footprints drawn at the door with rice flour, and sweets such as seedai and murukku prepared for the child.
- ISKCON temples keep the Vaishnava day with kirtan through the evening, abhishek at midnight and a large feast; temples elsewhere offer chhappan bhog, fifty-six dishes.
After the puja
Share the panchamrit and panjiri with everyone in the house and with neighbours. The next fast many families keep is the Ekadashi vrat, and the story of Krishna lifting the hill for Gokul is the Govardhan Puja katha.