SRINAGAR [Sheikh Nadeem] (KIMS) — The Hindu community celebrated Janmashtami with great spiritual fervour and gaiety on Monday, both across the country and in Jammu and Kashmir.
In Vessu village, located in the Qazigund area of Kulgam district in Jammu and Kashmir, the celebrations were marked by hundreds of devotees, including men, women, and children, participating in a vibrant Janmashtami procession. The participants sang bhajans and shouted slogans to express their joy for the festival.
Sanjay Raina, a local from the Hindu community, said, “The Janmashtami festival is celebrated here every year, and a procession is taken out joyously from Pandit Colony, Vessu.”
He added, “The Muslim community also takes part in our festival, which gives the message of peace and brotherhood.”
Janmashtami is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, who is considered the eighth incarnation (avatar) of the Hindu god Vishnu. The festival marks Krishna’s birth, which is believed to have occurred at midnight on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight in the month of Bhadrapada, according to the Hindu lunar calendar.
The festival is observed with great enthusiasm and devotion, featuring rituals such as fasting, singing devotional songs (bhajans), performing dances, and re-enacting scenes from Krishna’s life, particularly his childhood. — (KIMS)