Shri Krishna Janmashtami marks the birth of the Lord Krishna, who is the eight incarnation of Lord Vishnu. This day has many religious and cultural significance for Hindus. The main attraction of Janmashtami celebrations is the yoghurt pot sport, in which boys and men form a human pyramid. 

Shri Krishna Janmashtami is a multi-day festival commemorating the birth of the Lord Krishna. 

Lord Krishna was born in Mathura around 3228 BCE and was the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva. According to astrological calculations, Krishna was born at midnight, on the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the Bhadrapada month as per Purnimant calculations or the eighth day of the dark fortnight of the Shravana month as per Amavasyant calculations.

The festival of Krishna Janmashtami or Gokul Ashtami is observed by Hindus all over the world. People wear colorful clothing and decorate their homes and temples in celebration of the birth of the Lord. People also bathe Krishna images in temples and put them in cradles. They chant holy mantras in front of the idol to honor him. 
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Devotees mark Krishna's birthday by fasting and keeping vigil on the day. During this time, the Krishna image is bathed in milk and water, and devotees worship the statue of the deity. Temples and household shrines are decorated with flowers and leaves, and sweetmeats are offered to Lord Krishna.

Shri Krishna was born in a time of chaos and oppression on earth! It was a time where persecution was rampant, freedoms were often denied, and evil was blatantly evident. This is when a divine prophecy was made indicating the birth of Lord Krishna. It was believed that Lord Krishna would not only end the oppressive rule of the evil King Kansa, his own uncle, but he will also help to establish justice on earth, by bringing back goodness to mankind. 

Because of this prophecy, King Kansa had jailed Krishna’s parents- Vasudeva and Devaki. Immediately following his birth, his father Vasudeva thru divine intervention, miraculously escaped the prison for a night, to take Krishna across the Yamuna river, to his foster parents in Gokula, named Nanda and Yashoda who were Vasudeva's brother and sister-in-law. 

It needs to be noted that the day before Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated as Balarama Jayanti. This is when the divine serpent Shesha Nag associated with Lord Vishnu took birth as an incarnation of Shri Krishna’s brother Balarama. 

Krishna Janmashtami is also called as Gokulashtami. Nandotsava is a festival celebrated the day after the festival Janmashtami. It is believed that all the villagers of Braj visited Nanda's house to see little Krishna and congratulate Yashoda. Nanda distributed ornaments, clothes, cattle and other valuables among saints and sages. All saints and sages bestowed blessings on Lord Krishna in return. 

This day of Nandotsava is also celebrated as the Dahi-Haandi (yogurt pot) sporting event. In some areas of South India, this pot sport event is known as Utlotsavam. 

Shri Krishna Janmashtami signifies the intervention of the cosmic divine power to restore balance on earth. It reminds us that even though evil may abound, and we may feel oppressed with no apparent way out, there is hope and divine help on the way. We merely need to reach out to Lord Krishna to receive those blessings.
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Lord Krishna’s life was a great example of living one’s life with purpose, but at the same time not getting attached to the people, situations, or the outcomes! Shri Krishna’s teachings thru The Bhagavad Gita (The Divine Song) help us to not only lead a successful life but also live in sync with our cosmic life-path.

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Sheetala also written as Shitala, means 'cooling' and it is the name of the goddess who offers us relief and solace from suffering caused by health epidemics. 
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In our current trying times, this becomes even more relevant. Ofcourse, we should take all the necessary medical precautions and follow all the required health-directives, but at the same time, it may be a wise idea to also obtain some blessings from this divine Goddess. It is believed that since ancient times, goddess Sheetala Devi has helped people during epidemic healing crises! In the past, she was particularly invoked and prayed to for protection from smallpox, chickenpox, and other such viral infections.

The goddess Sheetala devi is iconographically shown crowed with a winnowing-fan and carrying a broom, dustpan, neem leaves and a pot of holy water to symbolically indicate that she brushes away all the dis-ease causing factors and disinfects and purifies our living-space.

She is believed to have emerged from the sacrificial fire-ceremony (yagna), that was performed by the cosmic divine energies (Devas) for honoring and appeasing the prime Divine Mother Goddess Parvati.

Goddess Sheetala Devi is mainly worshipped by women. She should be prayed to on a regular basis for good health, and she is particularly revered and honored on the 7th and 8th day after Holi, which are marked as Sheetala Saptami and Sheetala Ashtami respectively. On these days, devotees offer prayers to the divine mother and seek her blessings to not only cure any existing illnesses, but also for prosperity and health for their entire household, village, or town.

Sheetala Devi is recognized and honored by various names across different regions of the Indian subcontinent. She is considered as another manifested form of Goddess Kathyayini (also written as Katyayani).

Goddess Sheetala Devi is associated with both Hindu as well as Buddhist beliefs and traditions.

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All Hindu deities are cosmic energies that form part of the Divine Universal Energy or Supreme God-head.

Ganesh, is one of the most well-known Hindu deities. This joyfully happy, benevolent, elephant-faced God is adored by Hindus and many other spiritual faiths.
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Ganesh is the energy that can remove obstacles and obstructions. He is revered and honored before beginning any important or auspicious work. To ensure a safe journey and successful completion, his blessings must be sought prior to embarking on any important or auspicious work.

Maghi Ganapati is celebrated as the Ganesh Jayanti i.e., birthday anniversary of Lord Ganesh.  It is celebrated on the Shukla Paksha (waxing moon) Chaturthi (4th day) in the Vedic calendar month of Magha. At the current time, this coincides with the months of late January/February as per the Gregorian Calendar. This is celebrated by folks in the western parts of India- particularly in Maharashtra and Konkan region. Ganesh Jayanti is also known by Tilkund Chaturthi, Varad Chaturthi, and Magha Shukla Chaturthi. This arrival of Lord Ganesh is also lovingly called as Maghi Ganapati.

Many other people in India, celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi which comes on the fourth day in the Vedic month of Bhadrapada (Bhadrapada Shukla Paksha Chaturthi) as the birth anniversary of Lord Ganesh. At the current time, this coincides with the Gregorian months of late August/September. It needs to be noted that the day before, i.e. the third day of the Bhadrapada Shukla Paksha is celebrated as Hartalika- which is a special celebration, where devotes pray to Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati for marital bliss and nice progeny.
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You can read more at: Spiritual importance of celebrating Haritalika Teej

​Those who celebrate Maghi Ganapati, consider the auspicious time of Ganesh Chaturthi, as a special time, when Lord Ganesh, who is the lord of all the people (Gana-isha) visits earth and stays here for some time, to pay special attention to his devotees. He listens to the prayers of his devotees and also bestows special blessings to help them on their journey, at a  material as well as soul-spiritual level.

So, when is the actual birth anniversary of Lord Ganesh- is it in Magha or Bhadrapada?

Honestly, to think of such a divine energy presence in mere human terms of ‘birth’ is quite meaningless!! As we know, Vedic deities are representations of the Cosmic Energy manifestations and indicate various facets of the Supreme God-head.
When we consider the celebrations of Hartalika Teej which is the day before Ganesh Chaturthi (in Bhadrapada), it makes more sense to celebrate Ganesh Jayanti ‘some time’ after it. Also, as indicated in another article, the chronological sequence of Anant Chaturdashi, Pitru Paksha and Navaratri has special spiritual connotation.

You can read more at: The Significance of Anant Chaturdashi- our spiritual transformation can now begin…
 
And finally, we know that after Uttarayana begins with Makar Sankranti- i.e. the Sun ingress in the sign of Capricorn on Jan 14/15th (as per the Vedic sidereal calculations of Jyotish), the various auspicious activities start. 

This is marked as the early wee hours of the morning (dawn) in the Cosmic-Day timeline (which is followed by the Devas- Divine Energy Beings). In terms of Vedic Calendar month, it is still Pausha.

​As per the divine timeline, it is still the dawn phase and then with the start of the month of Magha, it indicates ‘Sunrise’. It is important to note that the nakshatra (star/ lunar-constellation) of Magha is the first nakshatra in the zodiac sign of Leo as per Jyotish (Vedic Astrology). And this is when the festive celebrations of Gupt Navaratri (Nine Nights of the Cosmic Mother Goddess- Shakti) begins, and then we have Maghi Ganapati on the fourth day of this celebration.

When we consider all the above points and keeping in mind the logical order in which the Vedic celebrations are held to indicate spiritual evolution and soul-journey, it makes more sense to celebrate Maghi Ganapati as Ganesh Jayanti!
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Spiritually we can think of this as, once we have the Cosmic sunrise with start of the month of Magha, the leader (isha) who governs  people (gana) is born...who we love and cherish as Lord Ganesh (Ganesha).

Now, there are some who also indicate that Maghi Ganapati is the time when Ma Parvati (a form of the Cosmic Divine Mother Goddess) created Lord Ganesh and that Ganesh Chaturthi is the instance when he was revived (re-birthed) with the elephant's head. This line of thinking does make sense. Given the spiritual symbolism behind Lord Ganesh getting an elephant's head and his key role on this earth plane (where gana-people dwell) along with the significance behind chronologically celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi, then Pitru Paksha and Navaratri (Fall or Sharadiya)... this theory that the two birth anniversaries, each indicate his original birth day (jayanti) as well as the day of re-birth/ revival does have immense merit.

Interestingly Lord Ganesh governs Buddhi (intellect) which in turn governs the 'vivek shakti' in a person. It is this shakti which gives one the ability to look at information, evaluate, conduct analysis and arrive at the best solution or decision. 

With Lord Ganesh's grace and blessings we can evaluate the many reasons behind various conceptions and mis-conceptions behind the two celebrations... but ultimately, the simple truth we need to realize is that- both the days of Maghi Ganesh as well as Ganesh Chaturthi are spiritually very powerful and they provide us opportunities to better tune ourselves with the energy-frequencies of Lord Ganesh and to obtain his blessings for our ultimate wellness.

Continue reading:

• ​Tantric form of Lord Ganesh- Uchchhishta Ganapati
• ​The two important bija (seed) mantras of Lord Ganesh
• ​Shri Ganesh Chalisa (in Devnagri- Hindi Script)
• ​Sankashti Chaturthi Vrat- Understanding the importance of Sankashti Chaturthi
• ​Vinayaka Chaturthi Vrat- Understanding the importance of Vinayaka Chaturthi (greatest being Ganesh Chaturthi)

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​It was the day of Sakat Chauth i.e. Chaturthi and the old lady was an ardent devotee of Goddess Sakat. She prayed to the Goddess for the safety of her son. Finally, when her son was getting ready to offer himself into the furnace, she gave her son a betel nut as a protective talisman. She asked him to hold on to the betel nut and pray to the Goddess Sakat as the kiln was getting fired up. She assured him that because of the grace of the Divine Mother, he would stay safe even when the kiln reached super high temperatures!

Her son did as per his mother's guidance and by the grace of the divine mother, he was absolutely unscathed. The villagers were shocked when he walked out of the hot kiln after all the pots were fired. Not only was he safe, but the villagers noticed that the Divine Mother had blessed all the other children who had previously been sacrificed, as well. They all came out of the kiln- safe and sound.

Everyone realized the immense love and grace of the Divine Mother and since then mothers in particularly pray to Maa Sakat (Divine Mother Goddess Sakat) for continued good health and wellbeing of their children.

Sakat Chauth is called by different names, depending on the region. It is called as Mahi Chauth, Mai Chauth and also as Tilkuta Chauth.

In addition, this day of Sakat Chauth, which happens to be the fourth day of the Krishna Paksha (waning moon phase) of the Vedic lunar month of Magha, is traditionally considered an important day to pray to Lord Ganesh and is called as the Sankashti Chaturthi. Sakat Chauth is also called as Vakra-Tundi Chaturthi and Maghi Chauth in honor of Lord Ganesh. You can read more about   Sankashti Chaturthi Vrat- Understanding the importance of Sankashti Chaturthi

On Sakat Chauth, Lord Ganesha is also worshipped along with Goddess Sakat. Worshipping Lord Ganesh on this day brings happiness and prosperity.

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Maa Shakhambari (also written as Shakambhari), who is an incarnation of the Divine Mother, is known as the Goddess of  Fruits, Vegetables and other green vegetation. 

The day of Shakhambari Purnima is also called as Shakhambari Jayanti.  It is the last day of Shakhambari Navratri festival. Unlike most Navratri festivals, which begin on the Shukla paksha pratipada, i.e. on the first day of the waxing moon phase, Shakhambari Navratri begins on the ashtami, i.e. the eight day of the waxing phase of the moon in the Vedic calendar month of Pausha and culminates on the full moon (purnima). She is believed to have incarnated on earth, to mitigate and relieve famine and other possible food crises.​

Considering this full moon is a time when farmers harvest the winter cash crops of fruits and vegetables, it is wonderful to see the divine essence, indicating our food-bounty, being venerated and honored on this harvest full moon! In the west, this full moon in the month of January is called as the Wolf Moon. It comes from the belief that wolves howled more frequently during this time of the year, which would make sense considering the bleak, long winter nights in the colder regions of the west where the full moon would help to light up the dull, dreary night sky... promising the increase of light as the days get longer and the nights get shorter...

On this day, we pray to Maa Shakhambari to express gratitude and obtain her continued blessings for our daily nutrition and sustenance.

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