HERE IS THE LOVELY PICTURE OF LORD KRISHNA WITH HIS LOVELY ANIMAL COW

LORD KRISHNA WITH HIS MOST LOVED ANIMAL (COW) WHICH IS ALSO CONSIDERED AS THE ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL GOD FOR HINDUS .
MANY OF THE HINDUS PRAY TO COW HAS THERE CUSTOMS.
LORD KRISHNA IN HIS LIFE MOSTLY PLAY WITH COWS HE WOULD FEED THEM DAILY
COW IS CONSIDERED AS THE GOD FOR HINDUS ..

BEAUTY OF KRISHNA

THE FESTIVAL OF JANMASHTAMI

The festival of Janmashtami is considered a very pious day by Hindus. Lot of bhajan singing, hymn chanting and poojas are performed this day. Devotees queue all the major Krishna temples to seek his blessings. People perform elaborate poojas during the festival. They keep day long fast. Functions and prayer meetings are organised to share the glory of their favourite God.The general pooja process begins early in the morning with devotees giving a bath or abhishek to Bal Gopal's idol with gangajal, ghee, water, honey and curd. The idol is then adorned with new clothes (preferably in yellow colour), stone or other precious jewellery.Next, the idol of lord is offered bhog, the contents of bhog may vary. Fruits, kheer, pedha, milk, and milk products are made. There are devotees who offer chappan bhog(56 dishes) to Bal Gopal. Thereafter, special Krishna pooja is performed. The cradle containing the divine infant's idol is rocked, conch is blown. Devotees sing Krishna arti, some people read out 108 names of lord. They get totally immersed in the name and praise of Gopal. After the entire pooja is over, devotees break their fast by having panchamrit. The time of breaking the fast may vary, this is so, because the time of performing pooja also differs from place to place. While some devotees choose to perform pooja at midnight and break fast, others perform pooja in the evening and have food.

LORD KRISHNA'S GREATNESS

Lord Krishna is the eighth and the most popular incarnation of Lord Vishnu. He was born in approximately 3200 BCE in Vrindavan, where he was brought up by the cowherd family of Yashoda and Nanda. His childhood playmates were gopas (cowherd boys) and gopis (cowherd girls), who were greatly devoted to him. Of all gopis, Radha loved Krishna the most.

In the forests of Vrindavan, Krishna often played his flute and gopis danced with him in ecstasy. The Gopis represent the individual souls trapped in physical bodies. Radha symbolizes the individual soul that is awakened to the love of God and is absorbed in such love. The sound of Krishna's flute represents the call of the divine for the individual souls.

The gopis' love for Krishna signifies the eternal bond between the individual soul and God. The dance of the gopis and Krishna (Rasa Lila) signifies the union of the human and Divine, the dance of the souls. In the forest, the gopis dance with Krishna and are absorbed in their love for him. This illustrates that when an individual soul responds to the call of the Divine, the soul enjoys union with the Lord and becomes absorbed in the divine ecstasy.

Of all the incarnations, Lord Krishna is revered as a full and complete incamation (purna avatara) of Lord Vishnu. He commands love, respect, and adoration from all Hindus of all walks of life.

JANMASHTAMI IN INDIA

Janmashtami is celebrated with fervor in India. Euphoria for the festival is not just restricted to Mathura - the birth city Mathura but pervades in rest of India too. The birth of Lord Krishna is one of the most popular festival of Hindus and they celebrate the occasion to the hilt.The festivities include various rituals being followed religiously. Temples all over India engage in various ceremonies and prayers in honour of Lord Krishna. Chanting of shlokas, readings from religious texts, singing devotional songs and dance performances are a common sight. Important and common customs observed in different states include performance of rasleelas by professional artistes, The ceremony of 'Dahi Handi' wherein enthusiastic young men break an earthen pot filled with curd, depiction of 'Jhankis' and other decorative items to show important events of Lord Krishna's childhood.There are certain celebrations that are distinct feature of a particular state or region which are as follows:

DWARKADHISH TEMPLE

In the middle of the town is the Dwarkadhish Temple, which was built in the 16th century. Dwarkadish is another name of Lord Krishna that means the "Lord of Dwarka". The five-storey high temple is built on seventy-two pillars. The temple spire is 78.3m (235 feet) high. From the temple dome waves an eighty-four foot long multicolored flag decorated with the symbols of the sun and moon. Lord Krishna's grandson, Vajranabha, is said to have built the original temple of Dwarkadhish over the hari-graha (Lord Krishna's residential place). The sanctum of the temple is formed by the Jagat Mandir, or Nija Mandir, which dates back at least 2500 years. The Jagat Mandir has a tall tower and a hall of audience. There are two entrances to the temple. The main entrance(north entrance) is called "Moksha Dwara" (Door to Salvation). This entrance leads to the main market. The south entrance is called "Swarga Dwara" (Gate to Heaven). Outside this doorway are 56 steps that lead to the Gomati River. The audience hall has both ancient and fairly modem sculptures. The main Deity in this temple is Lord Dwarkadhish, who is on the central altar. The Deity represents the four-armed form of Vishnu called Trivikrama. There is a temple to the right of the main Deity that contains the Deity of Lord Baladevaji (Balarama), who is the older brother of Lord Krishna. The temple to the left of the main Deity contains a big Deity of Pradyumna and a small Deity of Aniruddha. They are the son and grandson of Lord Krishna. Opposite this shrine is the shrine of Purusottama (Vishnu). Next to this shrine is a shrine dedicated to Kuseswara Mahadeva (Shiva). The shrine facing Dwarkadhish is dedicated to Devaki, the mother of Lord Krishna. Next to this shrine is a temple dedicated to Veni-madhava (Lord Vishnu). Behind the main temple in the eastern part of the temple compound are shrines of Radhikaji, Jambuvatiji, Satyabhamaji and Lakshmiji. There are also shrines of Saraswati and Lakshmi-Narayan.

LORD KRISHNA IS AN INCARNATION OF LORD VISHNU.

Lord Krishna is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

According to Pauranik literature, Lord Krishna settled and established his kingdom at Dwarka, in Jamnagar, after his migration from Mathura.

Archeological excavations reveal that the present day Dwarka is the 6th city on this site, the earlier 5 have submerged in the sea.
India has 4 Main Dhaams, 7 Puris, 108 Devi Peeths, 4 Shardapeeths, 68 Tirth and 12 Jyotirlings.
One Dham Dwarka, One Jyotirling Nageshwar and One Shardapeeth are the 3 places of International importance at Dwarka.
Dwarka : Ancient name for this area was Kushsthali, then Dwarvati, then Usha mandal then Okha mandal.
Lord Krishna came to here to Kushthali with his whole Yadav clan to make a new world for his clan.
This pleasant sea side land, cooled the eyes of Lord Krishna, so he put the foundation of Dwarka.
This place was full of all the comforts of life so it was called the Golden city. The city had huge markets, good roads, There was a fort built around the city and there were 10 Kothas. The Palaces of the Yadav clan is said to have doors of gold.