Janmashtami 2021: Here’s how Bangladesh, other places celebrated the festival

In Gokul, Janmashtami is celebrated as Gokulashtami and devotees start preparing for the day later than the actual date(Photo: IE)

Janmashtami is celebrated across the world by the devotees of Lord Krishna. This year, Janmashtami was celebrated on Monday, August 30. While people of India enjoy and celebrate the festival with full enthusiasm, the occasion is celebrated widely in different parts of the world as well. In Bangladesh, Janmashtami is a special festival for people there and the day also marks a national holiday. There happens to be a big celebration in the main temple of the country, Dhakeshwari Temple in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. DD News shared a video of people celebrating the festival in the ISKCON temple, Dhaka Bangladesh.

#Janmashtami celebrated across different temples in Bangladesh

A look at the celebrations from temples in Dhaka @DhakaPrasar pic.twitter.com/O7bEnC2uSB

— DD News (@DDNewslive) August 31, 2021

The festival also holds a greater significance for the people in Vrindavan. The temples there are decorated with lights, flowers, people sing and dance together while also praying for Lord Krishna. The place in fact happens to have many temples that are dedicated to the Lord Krishna. In Vrindavan, you can visit the Bankey Bihari temple and Prem Mandir.

In Gokul, Janmashtami is celebrated as Gokulashtami and devotees start preparing for the day later than the actual date. It is believed that since Lord Krishna was brought a day after he was born to Gokul. Devotees in Gokul play with curd, turmeric, buttermilk and bathe Krishna’s idols with the same.

On this day, people fast the whole day long and worship Lord Krishna. They end their fast on ‘Paran Mahurat’ after offering ‘Bhog’ to Lord Krishna. According to Hindu shastra, this Janmashtami fast is considered ‘Vratraj’, meaning– keeping a fast on this day fetches better results than keeping on any other the entire year.

Devotees and believers fast the whole day. Some even sing devotional songs and stay up till midnight as it was then that Lord Krishna was born. One gets up early on the day of Janmashtami and wears clean clothes after taking a shower. You can start your fast by taking an oath of observing a fast keeping your face in the east or north direction.