Gokulashtami is merely another name for Krishna Janmashtami, the date of Krishna’s birth. Krishna is considered an avatar of the god Vishnu and his birth anniversary is considered a day to be celebrated by most Hindu’s and his worshippers.
According to our traditional Hindu Lunar calendar, Krishna was born on the eighth day of the dark midnight in the month of Shravana on Bahula Paksha Ashtami. It usually falls in August or September in accordance with the Western calendar popular worldwide. Not only Krishna born on this day but also his sister Yogamaya , a form of Durga.
Who is Yogamaya ?
Yogamaya is know as Vindhyavasini, Mahamaya or Ekanamsha is a Hindu goddess and the benevolent aspect of supreme divinity Durga. She is identified as a form of Durga also referred to as Adi Shakti.
She manifested to kill the evil .
In the Hindu scripture Devi Mahatmyam, Maya covers Vishnu’s eyes in Yoganidra (divine sleep) during cycles of existence when all is resolved into one. By exhorting Mahamaya to release her illusory hold on Vishnu, Brahma was able to bring Vishnu to aid him in killing two demons – Madhu and Kaitabh.19th century philosopher and preacher Ramakrishna Paramhansa often spoke of mother Maya as Krishna’s internal energy which arranged his pastimes and fostered spontaneous love for him by making his intimate devotees forget that he is a god. When Krishna descended to earth, Yogamaya appeared as his sister,Mahamaya, the material energy of illusion, is her partial expansion. As Krishna progressed in life both Yogmaya and Mahamaya (both are one) kept helping him.
Importance of Krishna’s Incarnation
According to Hindu belief, when the world is filled with evil powers, god himself will take a human form to kill the eveil powers in the world and lead people back to the right path. The God Vishnu has incarnated again and again to ensure the preservation of mankind and took his 8th incarnation as Krishna and born to parents Devaki and Vasudeva in Madhura and brought up by parents Yashoda and Nandana in Brundavan. He represents the destruction of evil and in the importance of Dharma by narrating Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
Though Krishna is very mischeivious during childhood, he played a vital role in the Epic Mahabharata. In his life, Lord Krishna defeated many evil monsters directly with own hands and indirectly by provoking or guiding pandavas against evil deeds. When the brave Arjun was step backward to kill his own people during the battle Kurukshetra, Krishna explained his Dharma by how that battle was destined by the gods for good and we are just instruments or puppet in this. Fighting that battle was his dharma/duty and duties had to be fulfilled.
People from worldwide celebrate Golkulashtami with prayers and by putting decorated idols of Little krishna idols as a baby in a cradle to symbolise his birth and offer butter ( any food made with milk products) his favorite food. Also, they drew or paint their house with krishna’s feet and feel that little krishna is coming to their house. People dress up their little kids as Krishna and Radha and feel happy by treating them.
Utti/Uriadi/ Dahi handi is also an important play during Krishnashtami. youth from different places will participate in the play to break the utti filled with curd or yogurt as Krishna is breaking the pots of butter or Dahi when Yashoda hides those milk products from him. Our Hindu festivals are not only designed for fun or delicious food but also for physical strength and mental health. People in the spiritual path worship him in many ways, from spending the day in penance to merely taking a few moments to remember him, from fasting the whole day to reciting prayers.
Since Bahula Ashtami is one of the significant thithi for Durga Devi aradhana, SRR Peetham is planning an ahoratra Devi mahatmyam parayana from 18th Aug 2022 5 PM CST to 19th Aug 2022 9 PM CST.