The birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, Janmashtami, is celebrated on the eighth day of Krishna Paksha in the month of Bhadrapada. Shri Krishna Janmashtami is one of the major festivals in Hinduism. Shri Krishna Janmashtami is also known as Gokulashtami and Shri Krishna Jayanti. Shri Krishna’s birth anniversary is celebrated with great enthusiasm. During this, devotees keep fast and sing bhajans till late night. Shri Krishna was born on the Ashtami date of Krishna Paksha of Bhadrapada month. But do you know that the Shri Krishna Janmashtami festival is often celebrated for two days? Janmashtami is celebrated on different days by Smartas and Vaishnavas.
Two Days Janmashtami
Vaishnavas and Smartas celebrate Janmashtami according to both dates. When the date of Janmashtami is common, Smartas and Vaishnavas celebrate Janmashtami on the same day. At the same time, Janmashtami is celebrated on different days when there is a different date, in which Smarta celebrates it on the first date and Vaishnava sect on the second date.
Janmashtami is an important Hindu festival celebrating birth. There is a traditional reason for celebrating this festival over two days and some main reasons behind it are:
Date difference: There is a date difference in celebrating the festival of Janmashtami, due to which the birth date of Shri Krishna is Ashtami Tithi of Ashru Paksha Krishna Paksha of Ashadh month, which usually falls under the date difference of two days.
Birth of night and day: Shri Krishna was born in childhood and his birth led to the advent of the day. Therefore, by celebrating Janmashtami as a two-day event, the important source of happiness is that the arrival of God symbolizes two traditional periods (night and day).
Religious and traditional beliefs: Apart from this, the two-day celebration of Janmashtami includes religious and traditional beliefs and activities, which people consider as a form of dedication.
Therefore, the main reason for celebrating Janmashtami as two days is that it helps to support the feeling of devotion towards the birth of God and celebrate its importance.
In Vaishnav culture, the festival of Janmashtami is celebrated according to Ashtami Tithi and Rohini Nakshatra. At the same time, Smartas celebrates the festival based on Saptami Tithi.
According to Vaishnav followers, the festival of Krishna Janmashtami falls on the Navami and Ashtami Tithi of the Hindu calendar. According to the Hindu calendar, Shri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of Krishna Paksha in the Bhadrapada month. Shri Krishna Janmotsav is celebrated late in the night because according to religious beliefs Lord Krishna was born late in the night.