28 August, PATAN (Lalitpur): Thousands of people have thronged Krishna Temple at Patan Durbar Square to observe the Krishnashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna, one of the biggest Hindu festivals, by worshipping and offering fruits and sweets made of milk.
Hindus are celebrating the Krishna Janmashtami or Krishna Jayanti, across the nation and abroad on Wednesday.
According to Hindu scriptures, Krishna, who is mythologically revered as the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, was born to King Vasudeva and Devaki of Mathura in Treta Yuga on the eighth day of the new moon in Bhadra.
President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, as head of the nation, visited the Krishna Temple at Mangalbazaar in Patan in the morning today to pay homage to Lord Krishna.
The Hindus, specially women, celebrate the festival fasting and singing devotional songs dedicated to Krishna until midnight, believed to be the time of Lord Krishna’s birth.
On the occasion, President Ram Baran Yadav has extended greetings to Nepalis living at home and abroad . President has also expressed well wishes on the occasion of Gaura Parva, which is mainly observed in the Far-Western Region.
On this day, people parade on the streets carrying idols of Krishna. A special religious ceremony also takes place at Krishna Mandir in Patan, Lalitpur, on the occasion.
A large number of devotees started to queue up since 2 a.m though the temple gates were opened at 4 a.m. The number of devotees has been increasing. Groups of devotees can be seen singing hymns and giving homilies on the streets and squares around the temple complex.
It is believed that lord Krishna was born to protect the world from vice and demonic forces. He is taken to embody the virtue of truth and dharma.
The Krishnamandir in Patan, Lalitpur, which is enlisted in UNESCO World Heritage Site, was constructed nearly 376 years ago and it is one of the finest examples of Nepali temple architectural design. The then king Siddhi Narsingh Malla commissioned the construction of this temple
