‘Janmashtami’ celebrations begin at Mumbai’s Krishna temples

Mumbai, Aug 24 (PTI) The three-day celebrations of’Janmashtami’ to mark birth of Lord Krishna began today intemples with religious fervour and tradition. The famous temple of International Society for KrishnaConsciousness (ISKCON) at Girgaum Chowpatty here offered5,243-fruit ‘bhoga’ in a unique way to mark the occasion. The number 5,243 corresponds with the number of years theGod appeared on the earth, ISKCON’s spiritual leader RadhanathSwami Maharaj said in a statement here. A ‘maha aarti’ was performed this morning anddistribution of 5,243 fruits commenced, ISKCON spokespersonLucky Kulkarni said. "There will be ‘maha aarti’ and ‘maha abhishek’ of LordKrishna at midnight on August 25 where 1,008 bhogas will beoffered which will include variety of sweets, cookedvegetables, juices, rice and a variety of other dishes," hesaid, adding the celebrations will continue till August 26. The Girgaum ISKCON temple on its premises has made areplica of Tompkins Square Park of New York where ISKCONfounder Acharya Shri A C Bhaktivedanta Swami Shrila Prabhupadastarted discourse during his stay in USA in 1965. The dresses of Radha and Krishna this year are designedwith the opulent gold hand-embroidered zardosi (sewing withgold string) on pure silken velvets in royal colours. Quoting scriptures, Radhanath Swami claimed that 5,243years ago on Janmashtami, the Lord appeared on the earth atmidnight. It also has a deeper significance, he said, asmidnight is the time of maximum darkness and from the momentthe Lord appeared the darkness started diminishing. "Similarly our heart is dark being afflicted by multipleanxieties and miseries. But in the darkest hour of our life,when we turn to the Lord and he appears in our heart, all thedarkness recedes and the light of eternal hope startsstreaming in," he said. Another ISKCON temple at Juhu is expecting five lakhdevotees. Noted designer Rohit Verma has prepared the deity’s dressin off-white and gold, according to temple spokesperson. Besides, the famous Shree Krishna temple near AndheriSports Complex has organised a special pooja at midnighttonight to mark the birthday celebrations of Lord Krishna. Another Krishna temple at Wadala has also plannedcolourful Janmashtami celebrations during the next two days inwhich thousands of people are expected to visit for ‘darshan’of Lord Krishna. PTI SVS GKTIRRYS