Janmashtami celebrated with Lord Krishna's midnight 'abhishesk' at Mathura temples

Mathura (UP): The 'abhishek' ceremonies, the traditional bathing of the deity, were performed at the midnight of Thursday and Friday to mark the birth of Lord Krishna on Janmashtami with lakhs of devotees in attendance across Mathura.

Ingredients in quintals used for the preparation of 'Charnamrit' have been brought to the Bhagwat Bhavan temple, the venue of abhishek ceremony which will be performed under the guidance of Nritya Gopal Das, the head of Srikrishna Janmabhumi Nyas.

A cutout of Chandrayaan-3 with the Pragyan Rover has been placed under the lotus feet of the principal deity of the Bhagwat Bhavan temple. Prayers have been offered also for the success of the ISRO's solar mission,officials of the temple said.

The improvised colourful abode of the deity has been named 'Somnath Pushp Bangla' highlighting the efforts of ISRO chief S. Somnath. The dress of deity has been dedicated to rover 'Pragyan Prabhas ', the officials of the temple said.

Even though the devotees have been having darshans of the deity since the morning, there is an unprecedented rush of pilgrims at the Sri Krishna Janmasthan for the abhishek ceremony at midnight. Krishna devotees from far off places have arrived here to take part in the festivities.

One such group from Rajnandgaon (Chhattisgarh) is waiting for their turn to have a glimpse of the abhishek ceremony. Geeta, a woman in the group, said she is very optimistic she would be able to have a good darshans.

All the pilgrims have been asked to stand in the queue and wait for their turn to watch abhishekam, SP City M P Singh said.

In the Bankey Bihari temple about 12 kms away, the "mangala aarti' is scheduled to start at 2.00 am, but the eager devotees have started joining the queue from the evening itself, Gyanendra Goshwami, the priest of the temple, said.

He appreciated the district administration's decision to limit entry during 'mangla aarti', but said he was disappointed that he will not be able to help all his disciples participate in the aarti.

The district administration decided to limit the entry of devotees inside the Bankey Bihari Temple to avoid overcrowding. A stampede-like situation at the famous temple during Janmashtami celebrations in August last year left two dead and seven injured.

Except for four temples of Vrindavan where Janmastami was celebrated this forenoon, final touches for the abhishek ceremony in other temples of Vrindavan, Goverdhan, Nandgaon, Mathura, were going on in full swing. Gokul has been decorated for the symbolic welcome  of Krishna after Thursday midnight, said Bhiku Bhai, the priest of Raja Thakur temple in Gokul.