Janmashtami 2027 जन्माष्टमी

Why Janmashtami is celebrated

Janmashtami marks the birth of Shri Krishna, whom Hindus worship as the eighth avatar of Bhagwan Vishnu and, in many traditions, as the Supreme God himself. Devotees believe Krishna came to earth to end the cruelty of King Kamsa and to restore dharma, the moral order of the world.

Krishna is loved in many forms. As a child he is Bal Gopal or Laddu Gopal, the naughty boy who steals butter. As a young cowherd in Vrindavan he is the flute player who dances with the gopis. As an adult he is the wise guide of the Pandavas and the speaker of the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita's message of doing one's duty without clinging to the result still guides millions of Indians.

The festival speaks to every member of the family. Children dress up as Krishna and Radha. Parents keep a fast and decorate the home shrine. Elders sing bhajans late into the night. For devotees, the moment of birth at midnight is pure joy, as they feel God has entered their own home.

History and story of Janmashtami

The story of Krishna's birth is told in the Bhagavata Purana, the Harivamsa and the Vishnu Purana. Kamsa, the ruler of Mathura, heard a voice from the sky at his sister Devaki's wedding. It said that her eighth child would kill him. Kamsa threw Devaki and her husband Vasudev into prison and killed each child born to them.

The seventh child, Balarama, was saved when he was moved into the womb of Rohini, another wife of Vasudev. Krishna, the eighth child, was born at midnight in Kamsa's prison on a dark and stormy night. According to tradition, the guards fell into a deep sleep, the chains dropped away and the prison doors opened on their own. Vasudev placed the newborn in a basket on his head and walked into the flooded Yamuna towards Gokul. Devotees believe the river grew calm once it touched the baby's feet, while Sheshnag, the many hooded serpent, spread his hoods over the basket to shade him from the rain.

In Gokul, Vasudev left Krishna with Nanda and Yashoda and carried their newborn daughter back to the prison. When Kamsa tried to kill the girl, she slipped from his hands, rose into the sky as a form of the goddess and warned him that his killer was already safe. Krishna grew up in Gokul and Vrindavan and later returned to Mathura to end Kamsa's rule.

The festival has been kept for many centuries. Bhakti poets of medieval India, such as Surdas and Mirabai, and the followers of Vallabhacharya and Chaitanya, sang of Krishna's childhood. Their songs still shape the way Janmashtami is celebrated.

How Janmashtami is celebrated

Most devotees fast on Janmashtami. Some keep a nirjala fast without water, while others take fruit, milk and phalahari food such as kuttu, singhara and sabudana. The fast is broken after the midnight puja, or the next morning in some families. This breaking of the fast is called parana.

Homes and temples are decorated with flowers, lights and mango leaves. Families bathe the idol of Laddu Gopal and dress him in new clothes, a crown and a peacock feather, with a small flute. Many set up jhankis, small scenes that show Krishna's birth in prison, the crossing of the Yamuna and his childhood games.

Through the evening, people sing bhajans and kirtans and read from the Bhagavata. The main puja is done in Nishita kaal, the short window around midnight. The idol is bathed with panchamrit, a mix of milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar, and with Ganga water. At the moment of birth, conches are blown, bells ring and devotees welcome the baby with aarti. The idol is placed in a decorated cradle and gently rocked.

Sometimes the panchang shows two dates. Smarta households keep the fast on the day when Ashtami tithi runs at midnight. Vaishnav groups, including ISKCON and the Mathura and Vrindavan temples, usually prefer the day when Ashtami is present at sunrise, or when Rohini nakshatra joins it. Families simply follow their own temple or family custom.

Symbols, food and customs of Janmashtami

The flute, the peacock feather and the pot of butter are the signs of Janmashtami. The flute stands for the music that drew the people and cattle of Vrindavan to Krishna. The peacock feather in his crown is a mark of beauty and simple village life. The butter pot recalls the boy who stole makhan from the homes of Gokul, which is why he is lovingly called Makhan Chor.

The cradle, or palna, is the centre of the midnight puja. It is decorated with flowers, silk and small bells, and every member of the family takes a turn to rock it after the birth.

The basket and the river belong to the birth story. Many jhankis show Vasudev carrying the baby across the Yamuna under the hoods of Sheshnag, and children love to make these scenes with clay, cotton and coloured paper.

Food follows the fast. Bhog includes makhan mishri, panchamrit, fruits and dhaniya panjiri, a sweet of roasted coriander powder, ghee and sugar that is popular in North India. Kuttu puris, sabudana khichdi and makhane ki kheer are common fasting foods. Large temples prepare chhappan bhog, an offering of 56 dishes. The next day, homes share the prasad with neighbours and relatives.

Janmashtami across India

Mathura and Vrindavan see the biggest celebrations, with lakhs of pilgrims at the Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi and the Banke Bihari temple. The next day, Nandotsav is celebrated in Gokul and Nandgaon. In Maharashtra, teams of Govindas form human pyramids to break the dahi handi, a pot of curd hung high above the street. Dwarka in Gujarat and the ISKCON temples hold grand midnight aartis. Kerala marks Ashtami Rohini with processions of children dressed as Krishna, Tamil homes draw small footprints of the child Krishna from the doorway to the puja room, and Manipur celebrates with Raas dances.

In Uttarakhand, temples in Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh set up jhankis and hold midnight bhajans. As in Uttar Pradesh, police lines and some jails also hold Janmashtami programmes, a custom tied to Krishna's birth in a prison.

Offices, banks, markets and travel during Janmashtami

Janmashtami is a restricted holiday for central government staff, and states such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar close their offices and schools. When the Smarta and Vaishnav dates differ, offices may fix the holiday on either day.

In 2026 Janmashtami falls on Friday, 4 September. Central government staff can take it from the restricted holiday list, and in Dehradun and Lucknow it has been chosen as a closed holiday for central offices. The governments of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar close their offices that day. In Bihar it is also a holiday under the Negotiable Instruments Act, so banks there stay shut. In other states, bank closure depends on the state list.

Schools close in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar, and Kendriya Vidyalayas also have a holiday. The Supreme Court and the High Courts of Delhi, Allahabad and Uttarakhand are closed.

In 2027 the Supreme Court, the Uttarakhand High Court and AIIMS Rishikesh have fixed their holiday on Wednesday, 25 August, and central staff can take it as a restricted holiday. State government and bank holiday lists for 2027 are not out yet, so check them nearer the date.

Expect heavy crowds and traffic diversions near Mathura, Vrindavan and big temples on the festival night. Sweet shops, flower stalls and fruit markets stay busy through the day.