Festival · Krishna
Krishna Janmashtami
The birth of Krishna, who is said to have been born at midnight on the eighth day of the waning moon.
- Krishna Janmashtami 2027
- Wednesday 25 August 2027
- New Delhi
For New Delhi, Wednesday 25 August 2027
Krishna Ashtami tithi
- Begins
- 8:25 pm, 24 Aug
- Ends
- 7:20 pm
- Sunrise
- 5:55 am
- Sunset
- 6:51 pm
- Moonrise
- 11:41 pm
- Moonset
- 1:11 pm
Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.
Full panchang for this day →Puja times
For New Delhi, Wednesday 25 August 2027
Nishita puja
12:01 am to 12:46 am, 26 Aug
- The midnight moment
- 12:23 am, 26 Aug
- Moonrise
- 11:41 pm
- Parana (Dharma Shastra)
- After 11:43 am, 26 Aug
- Parana (after the Nishita puja)
- After 12:46 am, 26 Aug
- Ashtami begins
- 8:25 pm, 24 Aug
- Ashtami ends
- 7:20 pm
- Rohini begins
- 12:28 pm
- Rohini ends
- 11:43 am, 26 Aug
Worked out for your city. Panchangs can differ by a minute or so.
How it is kept
Customs vary by region and family
- Fast until midnight
- Sing bhajans and decorate a cradle for baby Krishna
- Worship at midnight, then break the fast
What it remembers
Janmashtami is the eighth day of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada (Shravana where months end at the full moon), the night Krishna was born in a prison cell at Mathura, at midnight, under the Rohini star. Devotees fast through the day, sing and keep watch, and at midnight the cradle is rocked, the conch is blown, and the fast is broken.
Keeping the night
The fast, the bhajans and the midnight birth are the heart of it. Families and temples keep it in many ways; follow your own tradition where it differs.
- Fast through the day: on fruit and milk, or without grain, or without water for the strict. Many eat only after the midnight puja.
- Clean and decorate the home and the shrine with flowers, and set up a jhula, a cradle, for the baby Krishna (Laddu Gopal). Some draw small footprints from the door to the shrine.
- Through the evening, sing bhajans and kirtans, read the tenth book of the Bhagavata, or the story of the birth, and keep awake.
- At midnight, in Nishita Kaal, bathe the image with panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar) and water, dress it in new clothes and a peacock feather, and place it in the cradle.
- Rock the cradle, blow the conch, ring the bells, and sing “Nand ke anand bhayo, jai Kanhaiya lal ki”.
- Offer makhan-mishri (butter and sugar), panjiri, panchamrit, fruit and the 56 dishes (chhappan bhog) if your family keeps them, and do the aarti.
- Break the fast with the prasad after the puja, or the next day after Ashtami and Rohini end, as your tradition keeps it.
What you need
- An image of the baby Krishna and a small cradle
- New clothes, a peacock feather and flowers for the image
- Milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar for the panchamrit
- Butter, sugar, panjiri, fruit and sweets to offer
- A lamp, incense, a conch and a bell
Across India
Mathura and Vrindavan
The birthplace and the playground: the Krishna Janmabhoomi temple at midnight, the Banke Bihari temple, raslila, and Nandotsav at Gokul the next day.
Maharashtra
Dahi Handi, or Gopalkala, on the next day: govindas build human pyramids to break a pot of curd hung high across the street.
Gujarat
At Dwarka, Krishna’s city, the Dwarkadhish temple is the centre; homes and temples are decorated, with cradle rocking at midnight.
Tamil Nadu and Kerala
Gokulashtami or Sri Jayanti: little footprints of rice flour from the door to the shrine, seedai and appam offered; Guruvayur keeps Ashtami Rohini on the star.
Odisha and Bengal
Midnight puja and fasting; the next day is Nanda Utsav, celebrating Nanda’s joy at the birth.
Manipur
Krishna Janma in the Vaishnava temples of Imphal, with the Manipuri ras dance through the night.
When it falls
Krishna Ashtami of Shravana (Bhadrapada in North India). Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.
These are the usual rules. A few days can differ by a day in your tradition, so check with your temple.
Krishna Janmashtami in the coming years
New Delhi, India time
- 2027Wednesday 25 August 2027
- 2028Sunday 13 August 2028
Questions
When is Krishna Janmashtami in 2027?
Wednesday 25 August 2027, in New Delhi. In a few places it can fall a day apart, so the date above is worked out for your city.
When does Krishna Janmashtami fall?
Krishna Ashtami of Shravana (Bhadrapada in North India). Kept on the day this tithi holds at sunrise.
How is Krishna Janmashtami kept?
Families fast until midnight, sing bhajans and decorate a cradle for baby Krishna and worship at midnight, then break the fast. Customs vary by region and family.
Who is honoured on Krishna Janmashtami?
Krishna. The birth of Krishna, who is said to have been born at midnight on the eighth day of the waning moon.
Why do some calendars show Janmashtami on two days?
Smartas keep the day whose midnight falls in Ashtami, preferring Rohini at midnight too. Vaishnavas, ISKCON among them, keep the day Ashtami holds at sunrise, which can be the next day. Many North Indians follow the Vaishnava date. This page gives the date by the Smarta rule, with the midnight times for your city.
When is the fast broken?
By the Dharma Shastra, after both Ashtami and the Rohini nakshatra have ended, on the next day after sunrise. Many break it after sunrise anyway, and many more right after the midnight puja. The page shows each of these times.
What is Nishita Kaal?
The muhurta around the middle of the night, a fifteenth of it, when Krishna was born. The puja and the cradle ceremony are kept in it. The page shows it worked out for your city.