Vrindavan and Mathura celebrated Krishna Janmashtami with the pomp and grandeur that was expected!

Vrindavan and Mathura were decked beautifully and all technical arrangements were also made for Krishna Janmashtami. Security detail and crowd control arrangements were on point. Some brilliant sights to behold were the Aarti at the Krishna
Janmabhoomi Temple, the inauguration of Vrindavan’s Tourist Facilitation Centre and the cultural program at Ramlila Maidan. The cultural program saw performances from Children of Bhayam Singh Group of Imphal, Manipur, who performed ‘Shankhvadan’.

The Prince Group from Odisha performed ‘Shri Krishna Avatar’. Manish Yadav of Madhya Pradesh performed Baredi dance. Shrishtidhar Mahato of Jharkhand performed Chhau dance. Nitin Dave from Gujarat performed Dandiya Raas. Finally, S. Venkatesh and Pavitra Mahapatra of Odisha performed the ‘Shankhanad’ dance. The morning abhishek in the Shri KeshadevaJi Temple was presided over by Cabinet Minister of Mathura, Shrikant Sharma, and accompanying him were Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Nyas President, Nritya Gopal Das, Guru Sharanand Maharaj, Kapil Sharma and Shri Krishna Janmasthana Seva Sansthan secretary, Gopeshwar Nath Chaturvedi.

Other notable abhishek ceremonies were held in the Radha Raman Mandir and Gokulananda Mandir. The influx of people in Mathura, Vrindavan, Nandgaon and Barsana was massive but because of the adequate security and traffic control measures, the devotees did not experience any problems. Banke Bihari Mandir had the largest number of devotees as Mangal Aarti is performed in that temple only once in a year, on Janmashtami.

Another temple that attracted a lot of devotees was the Rangaji Temple, as the doors to the rathghar were kept open and people could see Rangaji’s chariot. Devkinandan Maharaj performed the abhishek ceremony in the PriyakantJi Temple and this event was also broadcasted on television. A lot of devotees also flocked to the Dwarkadheesh Temple in Mathura. This auspicious day was also chosen for the re-opening of the Keshav Vatika.

Keshav Vatika is a lovely 3.5 acre garden which has been locked up since 1995 due to some security issues. The garden was beautifully decorated and lit and now can be considered another great venue where cultural and kirtan programs can take place.