Kerala: Devotees throng Guruvayur temple on Krishna Janmashtami; Aranmula Ashtami Rohini 'valla sadhya' today
The Guruvayur Sri Krishna Temple in Kerala is celebrating the Krishna Janmashtami festival today, August 26, with great enthusiasm. Thousands of devotees have gathered at the temple to mark the birthday of Lord Krishna.
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FollowThrissur: Guruvayur Sri Krishna temple is all set to celebrate the Ashtami Rohini or the Krishna Janmashtami festival with great fervor today (Aug 26). Thousands of devotees are thronging the temple on the birthday of Lord Krishna. The special prasad (offering) distribution will begin at 9 am, featuring a variety of delicacies including pal payasam (milk dessert) offered to Lord Krishna.
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The temple will also host a cultural meeting at 5 pm at the Melpathur Auditorium, inaugurated by Devaswom Minister V.N. Vasavan. The evening will witness a music, dance, and drama performance from 7:30 pm, followed by Krishnanattam (a traditional dance-drama) at 10 pm.
Meanwhile, Aranmula Temple is hosting its annual Ashtami Rohini feast which will be inaugurated by Union Minister Suresh Gopi at 11 am. The event caters to 70,000 devotees, with 60,000 inside the temple and 10,000 outside. The feast will continue until October 2. Evening processions (Sobha Yatra), led by Balagokulam, will take place statewide, except in Wayanad, where celebrations are canceled due to recent calamities. This year's festivities will be somber and spiritually focused across Kerala.
As processions will begin across the state, participants will pay homage to those who lost their lives in the Wayanad disaster and read out condolence messages. State president R. Prasannakumar and general convener K.N. Sajikumar announced that all participants will contribute to the Wayanad Snehanidhi relief fund.
The theme of this year's Sri Krishna Jayanti celebration is "Punyamee Mannu, Pavithrame Janmam" which means "Sacred is this land, sacred is this birth". This theme reflects both the current situation and national spirit, according to Balagokulam.
