Lord Krishna's midnight 'abhishek' at Mathura temples mark Janmashtami

Mathura: There was tremendous excitement on Monday midnight at Shri Krishna Janmasthan when the clock struck 12 and the portal of Bhagwat Bhavan temple opened for "Prakatya darshan (appearance of Krishna)" followed by Maha Aarti, officials on Monday said.

No untoward incident has taken place even though over 25 lakh devotees paid their obeisance to the deity at different temples of Brijbhumi, SSP Shailesh Kumar Pandey said.

The environment of Srikrishna Janmasthan, echoed with "Nand Ke Anand Bhayo Jai Kanhaiya Lal Ki" while devotees started dancing amidst the sound of conch, drum, cymbal and Mridang (a type of instrument).

"The pilgrims tried to grab tophees and toys tossed from the balcony of the temple as they considered it holy Prasadam” Kapil Sharma, the secretary of Shri Krishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan who tossed the tophees and toys from the balcony said.

He said after Maha Arti, the priests and Anurag Dalmia the trustee of Srikrishna Janmasthan Seva Sansthan began the "Abhishek ceremony", amidst chanting of Vedic hymns in the presence of saint Nratya Gopal Das, the president of the trust.

"The Abhishek was performed with a mixture of ingredients -- milk, curd, hony, khandsari, ghee and herbal drugs for about 40 minutes. The Abhishek ceremony terminated with ‘Sringar Aarti’ that lasted for five minutes", the officials of the Janmasthan Sansthan said.

While the portal of the temple remained open till 2.00 AM, the pilgrims were allowed to enter the Janmasthan area till 1.30 A.M.

After the Abhishek ceremony, Prasadam was distributed among the devotees at the exit points of Srikrishna Janmasthan, the official added.