Krishna Janmashtami this year is celebrated on 26th August, 2024. Devotees of Lord Krishna celebrate this auspicious festival by keeping fast, night-sankirtans, holding bhakti events, etc. Sri Krishna’s devotees celebrate this day to express their love for Lord Krishna.

Though Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated worldwide, It is chronicled with the most enthusiasm in the ISKCON temple. The appearance of Lord Krishna is significant. Krishna’s Janam Leela is divine and sacred. The reason for the advent of the Supreme Lord is to end the cruelty of evil Kansa and give the pleasure to the devotees.

Lord Krishna appeared in the prison of Mathura at midnight on the eighth day of Krishna paksha to Mother Devaki and Vasudeva. That night was remarkable. During the manifestation of Lord Krishna, all the places were irradiated to portray the Advent of the Supreme Lord.

Prophecy of the “Downfall of Kansa”

It is believed that King Kansa made splendid arrangements for the marriage of his beloved sister Devaki. But at the same time, prophecy took place that the eighth son of Devaki will be the reason for the end of the dictatorial rule of Kansa and will be the reason for his ruination.

Why Kansa killed all the children of Devaki?

When Kansa came to know that Devaki’s child will be the cause of Kansa’s death, he forgot all the bonds and love for his sister, and in a rage, he held Devaki’s hair and was going to kill her. Then Vasudeva advised the situation with his patience and wisdom to save the life of his wife, Devaki. He stopped Kansa wisely, saying that “why are you taking the stigma of killing a woman and that too your sister on your head. We will hand over our eighth son willingly to you.”

After hearing this, the evil Kansa left the idea of killing his sister and decided to spare her life, imprisoned his sister and her husband, and waited for their eighth son’s birth.

On observing the delay of Lord Krishna’s descent (birth), representing all demigods Devarshi Narada said to Kansa that lord Krishna is very clever. So Lord Krishna doesn’t need to take birth as their eighth son; He can appear anytime. And in this way, the evil Kansa brutally killed all seven children born to Devaki and Vasudeva.

The Appearance of Lord Krishna

During the birth of the eighth child, the Lord appeared in chaturbhuj form and visited Devaki and Vasudeva. A beautiful divine child born as their son.

Surprisingly as soon as the divine child took birth, the shackles got unlocked and magically freed him, the iron door of their cell opened itself, and all the guards slept under a magic spell.

Vasudeva came out of the prison to rescue the newly born child and carried him across the Yamuna. Then, he gave the child to his closest friend Maharaj Nanda. Then, he came back to the cell with the baby girl born in Nanda’s house.

Kansa Arrival to the Cell on Receiving the News of Eighth Child Birth

Immediately after that, Kansa was informed about the newly born child. He reached the cell to kill the newly born girl child. As he tried to kill the baby girl, the baby slipped from his hand and went towards the sky and proclaimed, “evil Kansa, the reason for your death has already taken birth.”

Description of Lord Krishna’s Birth According to Shastra

People say Lord never takes birth, but Lord Krishna took delivery from their mother’s womb, so He cannot be Lord. But Lord Sri Krishna did not take delivery from Mother Devaki’s womb like a normal baby where the mother has to bear labour pain.

As described in Shastras, He took birth in the chaturbhuj form and later adopted a child’s form.

Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of International Society for Krishna Consciousness classifies when sun sets and again rises. It is not considered as the sun took rebirth. The absence of the sun does not mean that it perished. It just hides from our sight. Still, going out of our site, it appears somewhere else. In the same way Supreme Lord is beyond life and death and appears in one place after finishing his pastimes in other place.

Generally, the following two shlokas of BHAGAVAD GITA are very known-

“yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
abhyutthānam adharmasya tadātmānaṁ sṛijāmyaham” (-Bg 4.7)

This means when adharma starts to prevail, and Dharma starts to perish. Lord Sri Krishna appears at his own will.

Now the question arises what the purpose of His self appearance is?
The purpose is-

“paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśhāya cha duṣhkṛitām
dharma-sansthāpanārthāya sambhavāmi yuge yuge” (-Bg 4.8)

Supreme Lord constantly lives in His dham (divine abode), but when He descends to the material world, He is called Avatar. This is because He descends for the redemption of His devotees and to end evil.

Significance of Sri Krishna Avatar

There are many types of Avatars like Purusha Avatar, Gunavatar, Lilavatar, Shaktyavesh avatar, Manvantara avatar, and Yugavatar. All of these descents in this universe incarnate in order. But Lord Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and source of all the Avatars. He can destroy evil in any way.

He does not need to incarnate particularly. So Lord Krishna takes Avatar for the particular purpose of taking away the worries of his devotees who are curious to see his actual pastimes of Vrindavan.

Hence the real purpose of Krishna Avatar is to give pleasure to his pure devotees who are devoid of fruitive activities. It is not a fact that Supreme Lord descends only to the land of India. He can appear anywhere anytime. So on taking every Avatar, He speaks about the Dharma. But the purpose remains the same: to make people filled with religious feelings and to make them obedient to religious rules.

Sometimes He appears Himself, and sometimes He sends His authentic representative in the form of His son or a follower or appears Himself in disguise.

Lord Krishna appears in Brahma’s one-day seventh Manu twenty-eighth Chaturyuga’s end of Dwapara. That is why we are fortunate that we are born in that duration of Kaliyuga when it has been just 5249 years of His disappearance.

After that, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also appeared 500 years ago and made us familiar with Krishna bhakti (Harinam-Sankirtan). So, come, let’s celebrate this Janmashtami for our beloved Lord Krishna’s pleasure and try to bring His transcendental teachings into our life.

-> Fasting till midnight (only Ekadashi Prasadam to be taken)

The Snana Yatra, also known as Dev Snana Purnima, is a sacred bathing festival of deities observed on the Purnima (full moon) day of the Hindu month of Jyeshtha. According to Skanda Purana, this auspicious event commemorates the appearance of Lord Jagannath and holds significant importance for Vaishnavas. There are innumerable pastimes of the Lord Jagannath. 

The Lord not only performs these transcendental pastimes with devotees for emotional exchanges but to uplift the fallen conditioned souls of the material world. Also, when we hear and understand these transcendental pastimes of the Lord, our sins which we have accumulated since many births, will be destroyed. After repeatedly hearing the transcendental pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, real love for the Lord also arises in our hearts.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who can manifest in various forms such as Narasimha, Matsya, Kurma, or even as the wooden deity Jagannath, provides a shelter for wandering souls like us. The primary purpose is to seek refuge and solace in the Lord’s divine presence. And through the medium of the Lord’s transcendental pastimes, it becomes possible, and after hearing such transcendental glories of the Lord, a living entity automatically gets dragged toward the Lord as a river gets attracted toward the ocean. According to Skanda Purana, Snana Yatra is the auspicious appearance day of Lord Jagannath. So, let’s first understand the analogy behind the appearance of Lord Jagannath.

Historical Significance of Snana Yatra

Once upon a time in Dwarka, Mother Rohini was telling the queens of the Lord about the pastimes of the Lord with Radharani and other Gopis in Vrindavana. Hearing the pastimes narrated by Mother Rohini, Lord Krishna, Baladeva, and Subhadra became so delighted, overwhelmed with an emotional touch, and surprised that their eyes became wide, mouths remained open, and other parts became small and inserted inside their body. In this manner, Lord Krishna became Jagannath. When Devarshi Narad took Darshan of this transcendental form, he requested Lord to provide an opportunity to the whole world to have the Darshan of this unique form. 

After a certain period, King Indradyumna fulfilled this desire of Devarshi Narad. Then, Lord, after coming in the dream of King Indradyumna, says- ‘Hey King, I tend to appear on the Purnima particular date of the Jyeshtha month. So, on that day after consecration, I performed my worship with a full heart. From then, King Indradyumna from that day inaugurated the Snana Yatra festival. 

In Jagannath Puri, many festivals are celebrated for Lord Jagannath, and the beginning of all these festivals originates from the Snana Yatra. On this day, Lord comes out of the temple. In Puri Anand Bazaar, famous for Prasad, near it, in a high place known as Snana Mandap, the Lord is bathed because it was the order of the Lord to bath him in a place where not only demigods, but the people of the earth would also be able to see him easily.

Elephant Form of Lord Jagannath and Baladeva: Tracing the Scriptural Injunctions

On the very day of the Snana, Lord possesses an elephant form in the evening. The story behind this is as follows- Ganpati Bhatt, a most revered worshiper of Brahma, who, after reading all the scriptures, concluded that by taking Darshan of Parma Brahma, a living entity becomes liberated. In the scriptures, he read that Parma Brahma resides in Jagannath Puri. But from somewhere, it was settled in his mind that Parma Brahma possessed a proboscis. So, when he came to Jagannath Puri on Jyeshtha Purnima for Darshan of the Lord and saw that Lord Jagannath did not have a proboscis, then he inferred that he could not be a Parma Brahma.

Ganpati Bhatt further contemplated that if Jagannath had been a Parma Brahma, then how come people who take Darshan of the Lord are coming back? They must be liberated. Thinking about all this, he started going from there. Seeing this, Lord Jagannath felt sorrow, and he took the form of a Brahman and came to him. Lord, and made him understand that Jagannath is the only one whom he has come to meet. In the form of the Lord, Brahman instructed Ganpati Bhatt to go back and see. When he returned, in actuality, Lord Jagannath and Baladeva’s heads were that of the elephant and an elongated proboscis and teeth of the elephant. Then Ganpati Bhatt believed that Jagannath was the only Parma Brahma.

He further acknowledged that Jagannath is the Lord. From then, on the evening of every Snana Yatra, Gaja Vesha is performed. Lord Jagannath and Baladeva are decorated as an elephant, and Subhadra is adorned in the form of a lotus. For Gaudiya Vaishnavas, this is a special occasion because Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, after taking Sannyasa, spent most of his time on the Jagannath Puri. 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also used to take pleasure in that Snana Yatra. As we discussed above, after Snan, Lord does not give Darshan for 15 days because he resides in a wooden made home called Anabasara, where Shivir caste people serve the Lord. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself is Krishna, depicting the mood of Radha Rani. Therefore, his name is also Krishna Virah Vidur. And Jagannath Ji is himself Krishna but depicts the mood of separation from Radha Rani. Therefore, one name of Lord Jagannath is also Radha Virah Vidur. Lord Jagannath chants Radha, and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu chants Krishna. See, how is the transcendental pastime of the Lord?

Then, they both meet in Jagannath Puri. But after the Snana Yatra, when Mahaprabhu fails to take the Darshan of Lord Jagannath, Mahaprabhu cannot bear this separation. Then, being worried and wandering in all directions, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu reaches Alarnath, where a deity of the four-handed Lord Vishnu possesses a conch shell, discus, club, and lotus. And the separation of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was so extreme that the two hands of Alarnath disappeared, and it became Shyamasundara. And the stone on which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sat and offered obeisance melted from all four sides, and the stone is also situated as it is today there. Therefore, from then, the devotees of the Gaudiya sect reside only in Alarnath on the Anabasara and perform kirtans and bhajans there.

Conclusion

Therefore, along with the season of festivity, Snana Yatra brings with it a feeling of separation. Thus, it all delineates about the Snana Yatra festival of Lord Jagannath. The day when the Lord Jagannath appeared, and from his wooden Brahma form, mercifully manifested in Jagannath Puri to bestow his mercy upon the living entities of the world. In the temples of ISKCON, this festival of Snana Yatra is also celebrated with great joy and enthusiasm. Therefore, it is a humble request to all the devotees to visit their nearest ISKCON temples, take advantage of this special occasion, and obtain the divine mercy of Lord Jagannath on his appearance day.

Lord Krishna’s pastimes are divine and pleasing, and we cannot understand these great pastimes with tiny material intelligence. Therefore, to understand these great pastimes and follow them in our lives, we need bonafide disciplic succession.

Lord Krishna says in Bhagavad -Gita

जन्म कर्म च मे दिव्यमेवं यो वेत्ति तत

janma karma cha me divyam evaṁ yo vetti tattvataḥ
tyaktvā dehaṁ punar janma naiti mām eti so ’rjuna (BG 4.9)

Hey Arjun, Those who understand the divine nature of my birth and activities upon leaving the body do not have to retake rebirth. Instead, they come to my eternal abode directly.

Chronicle of Boat Festival

In ISKCON (International Society For Krishna Consciousness), many festivals are organized. Thus, we can remember the Lord’s great sacred pastimes and purify our tainted hearts.

Among all these saintly Leela’s of Lord Krishna Nauka Vihar is one of them. This Leela is mentioned in a transcendental scripture named “Gopal Champu”, written by Srila Jiva Goswami. It is also mentioned in other scripture.

About Goloka

Goloka Vrindavan is Lord Krishna’s eternal abode, and there the pastimes go on continuously. So the root of this religious festival is also linked with the land of Krishna- ” Goloka Vrindavan”.

Anecdote of Boat Festival

Once all the gopis, their pots filled with yoghurt and butter, came to the shore of river Mansi. They had a desire to cross this Mansi Ganga. They met with a boatman and asked him to take them on the other side of Mansi Ganga. That boatman agreed. As soon as the boat reached afar, the boatman stopped.

The gopis asked the boatman what happened to you, why you suddenly stopped? The boatman replied I am hungry. I want to eat yoghurt and butter. The gopis gave him all the curd and butter they had with them so that boatman did not stop sailing. After eating, he sailed for a while. After covering some distance, he again stopped. He said I was exhausted, wanted to take a rest. Gopis told if he does not start sailing, they will throw him from the boat.

How Radha Rani spotted Sri Krishna

Suddenly the whole sky got filled with clouds. Winds started blowing, and the boat started shaking and moving. Gopis got scared. At the same time, Radha rani’s eyes fell on the boatman. She noticed a flute with him. She identified, it is no one else other than their beloved Krishna. All the gopis were extremely happy, knowing that this was their Krishna’s wish. It is an example of extreme reciprocating love between Lord Krishna and his devotees.

Bond Between Gopis With Krishna

Gopis are immense devotees of Lord Krishna. Their love for Krishna is of utmost and can not be mentioned in words. Those who reached an enormous level in spirituality can understand the love and bonding between Krishna and gopis and appreciate them. 

About Boat Festival Commemoration

The Boat festival is astonishing which will be celebrated this year at Sri Sri Radha Parthsarthi temple. This year it is also significant because due to covid we had not observed this festival last year. So this is the twelveth boat festival we are commemorating. Kaliya Krishna pond area inside the temple campus is decorated with attractive flowers, fruits, balloons and different colours. And the decoration of this place fills the heart with exhilaration. In this, many decorations and paintings are done inside water using beautiful flowers and colours.

How Boat Festival Will Be Celebrated At ISKCON

Sri Sri Radha Parthsarthi’s festive deity (Utsav Vigraha) is taken in a boat with Sri Lalita Ji and

Sri Visakha Ji. That scene is ineffable. Lord is taken to a boat ride along with kirtan, and many preparations are offered to Lord as Bhoga. Thousands of devotees assemble and do kirtan boomingly. Lord is seated in a decorated beautiful boat and takes a ride that scene is pure bliss for devotees.

We are inviting you all to come and take part in this auspicious occasion. When we participate in such a festival, our hearts thrive with darshan, kirtan, remembrance, and the company of advanced devotees makes us feel ecstatic.

So come, let’s celebrate this festival together and acquire the Lord’s blessings by chanting –

Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa

Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma

Rāma Rāma Hare Hare

• Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi Boat Festival ki Jai
• Srila Prabhupada ki Jai

Special Favor of Lord Narasimha

Lord Narasimha and Prahlada Maharaja’s Divine Relation

Who is the real protector?

Ideal Standards to Follow on Narasimha Chaturdashi

Lord Narasimha is Coming to ISKCON Delhi

Conclusion

The Supreme Personality of Godhead has infinite incarnations and forms that descend into this material existence from time to time to perform various functions. In whichever form God incarnates that is perfectly suitable to carry out the operation. For instance, Lord Varahadeva had to pick planet earth from the depth of Garbhodak ocean, He was incarnated as a giant boar; He incarnated as Lord Narsimha in order to kill demon Hiranyakashipu, thus satisfying all conditions of Brahma’s benediction. Similarly, after looking at the most fallen condition of living entities in Kaliyuga, He decided to incarnate. The Supreme devotee of Lord is His eternal consort Shrimati Radharani, she is of golden complexion. Thus in Kaliyuga, Lord incarnated in a golden complexion and took the devotional mood of Shrimati Radharani. The purpose of the Lord’s incarnation was to distribute the love of Godhead via His different names which are nondifferent from Himself.

Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, incarnated as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to liberate the people of Kaliyuga from the repeated cycle of birth, death and to advance them back home back to Godhead. He didn’t consider the time, ability, or eligibility of the person, and without any discrimination, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu distributed Kirhsna prema to anyone and everyone. Love of Godhead, Krishna prema, is so fathomless that along with Mahaprabhu many of His pure devotees also appeared, chief among them was Balram ji. In Vrindavan pastimes, Balram ji was the elder brother popularly known as dau ji; in Ramayan pastimes, Balram ji was the younger brother, Lakshman ji. In Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s pastimes, Balram ji appeared as Nityananda Prabhu.

Lochan Das Thakur writes in his devotional song –

parama koruna, pahu dui jana nitai gauracandra
saba avatara-sara siromani kevala ananda-kanda

The two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra, are very merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that They introduced a process of chanting and dancing that is simply joyful.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a yugavatar, He is not only yugavatar but chhannavatar too who has hidden His opulences. Mahaprabhu is the most magnanimous incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is non different from Krishna, His magnanimity is fathomless which can only be approached by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu.

Who is Nityananda Prabhu?

Krishna Das Kaviraj Goaswami explains in Chaitanya Charitamrit –  

saṅkarṣaṇaḥ kāraṇa-toya-śāyī garbhoda-śāyī ca payo ’bdhi-śāyī
śeṣaś ca yasyāṁśa-kalāḥ sa nityā-nandākhya-rāmaḥ śaraṇaṁ mamāstu – (CC Adi 1.7)

“May Śrī Nityananda Rāma be the object of my constant remembrance. Saṅkarṣaṇa, Śeṣa Nāga and the Viṣṇus who lie on the Kāraṇa Ocean, Garbha Ocean, and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions.” 

It means in Kaliyuga Shri Krishna incarnated as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Balram ji as Nityananda Prabhu. Nityananda Prabhu is non different from Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in all respects except bhaav, love. Shri Gauranga Mahaprabhu is the worshippable Lord who accepts service whereas Shri Nityananda Prabhu is the servant Lord who serves. Thus the Lord Himself demonstrates how one can serve God.

Cause of the spiritual & material world’s creation

In the spiritual world, Balram ji is the first expansion of Shri Krishna. From Balram ji the first quadruple expands – Sankarshan, Vasudev, Pradyumna, Anirudha. Sankarshan further expands into Mahasankarshan which later expands into a second quadruple – Sankarshan, Vasudev, Pradyumna, Anirudha. This expansion of the Lord as Sankarshan assists in the creation of the spiritual world, which is 3/4th of the Lord’s entire creation. It means that the innumerable number of Vaikutha dhaams are nothing but the expansion of Lord Balram ji to serve the Lord. To create the material world, Balram further expands Himself into three Viṣṇu – Maha Viṣṇu also known as Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu.

Maha Viṣṇu (Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu) – Innumerable material universes come out of His body pores when He exhales. What to talk of this particular universe, we are unable to ascertain the beginning and end of this world. Such infinite universes are coming out from the body pores of Maha Vishnu, one can wonder how immense His form would be.

Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu – In each one of the universes the Lord enters as Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. From the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu has sprung the stem of the lotus flower, the birthplace of Brahmā, who is the father of all living beings and the master of all the demigod engineers engaged in the perfect design and working of the universal order.

Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu – From Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu there is expansion of the Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, who is the collective Paramātmā of all living beings. Paramātmā resides in all 84 lakh species of living entities as Supersoul. He is called Hari, and from Him, all incarnations within the universe are expanded.

All these three Viṣṇus are expanded from Balram ji aka Nityananda Prabhu!

Appearance and pastimes of Nityananda Prabhu

In 1474, Nityananda Prabhu appeared in the village Ekachakra of Bengal. He was born to a religious Bengali Brahmin, known as Pandit Hadai, and his wife, Padmavati. They are the real parents of Nityananda Prabhu in Goloka Vrindavan. At an early age, He used to re-enact various pastimes of the Lord with His friends. They all were amazed at how many details of the Lord’s pastimes Nityananda Prabhu knew at that age. When they ask Him, He would simply say, these all wereHis pastimes. They would all laugh and no one would believe Him. After a few years, in the company of a Sanyasi, he visited all the pilgrimages, then started living in Vrindavan. While residing there, he got to know that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had started the sankirtan movement. He came to meet Mahaprabhu and took permission. After that, He started preaching Krishna consciousness.   

It is impossible to get the mercy of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu without getting mercy of Shri Nityananda Prabhu. Whatever knowledge of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s life we have available today is only due to the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu. One gets the power to glorify and to preach from His Nityananda Prabhu because, in His AnantShesha form, He empowers. 

Mercy of Lord Nityananda Prabhu

Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami, the author of Chaitanya Charitamrit, got instructions from Nityananda Prabhu in his dreams. Nityananda Prabhu instructed him to go to Vrindavan and all his desires would be fulfilled. Vrindavan Das Thakur, the author of Chaitanya Bhagwat, was also inspired by Nityananda Prabhu. This concludes that due to the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu only we get to know about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s life and pastimes. Therefore, Nityananda Trayodashi is of utmost importance to all devotees who are aspiring to Krishna prema. Nityananda Prabhu is Adiguru, who teaches us how to approach and take shelter of the lotus feet of Godhead. Therefore, to get love of Godhead, to get the mercy of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, to deliver the fallen souls of Kaliyuga we must have the mercy of Shri Nityananda Prabhu. Thus we should take shelter of His lotus feet and pray for His mercy, because Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu can’t deny and has to give shelter to someone if Nityananda Prabhu approves him. We know that Mahaprabhu was about to kill Madhai, but left him alive because Nityananda Prabhu intervened. That’s why Nityananda Trayodashi is of much significance for us.

How Balram ji serves the Lord in all mellows (rasas)

Shri Nityananda Prabhu serves the Lord in all five mellows, rasas. In shant rasa, Nityananda Prabhu is serving the Lord by expanding Himself in apparel, ornaments, vehicle, flag, bed, kartaal, mridanga, etc. In dasya rasa, He serves the Lord in the form of all cowherd boys. In sakhya rasa,He serves the Lord in the form of very intimate friends. In Vatsalya rasa, He serves the Lord as His elder brother. In madhurya rasa, he serves the Lord as Anang Manjari, younger sister of Shrimati Radharani ji.

Constitutional position of a living entity is to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead –  jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇa ‘nitya-dāsa’. If we love someone but we don’t serve then that is not true love and could be inspired by some ulterior motives. That’s why to love someone means to serve to please the beloved. We can only get the servitude attitude by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu.

Therefore, on this auspicious occasion of Nityananda Trayodashi, we should primarily pray and ask for his serving attitude and inculcate in letter and spirit. Anticipating the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, one should dedicate this human form of life in the service of the Lord and His devotees.

Hare Krishna,

            Shri Nityananda Prabhu Appearance day, fasting till noon.

Akshaya Tritya is considered the most auspicious day to start any new activity. It appears on the third day of Shukla paksha of Vaishakh month. The third day of Akshaya Tritya is utsava tithi, which means it falls on the same day every year. This utsava tithi in the Hindu calendar corresponds with the third day of Shukla paksha, which begins at sunset of each lunar day. The date will be determined based on various factors, such as which Vedic deity is worshipped that night and whether any auspicious event occurred on that particular moonless night. The next Akshaya Tritya will fall on May 3rd, 2022.

In the Hindu religion, Akshaya means that which is unlimited, unbroken. Therefore, this day is celebrated for eternal and permanent happiness, peace, and prosperity. Many great things happened on this day. For instance, 1500 years ago, Buddha was born in India, and he would later teach people about mindfulness and meditation and become known as the “Gautama Buddha.”

1.) Lord Parshuram Ji appeared on the day of Akshaya Tritya which is also known as Parshuram Jayanti. He is also known as Lord Krishna, and he is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Keshav had a son named Sri Krishna, who became his 6th incarnation. Lord Parshuram was born to Queen Renuka and King Kushadhwaj, high-ranking devotees of Lord Vishnu.

kshatriya-rudhira-maye jagad-apagata-papam
snapayasi payasi samita-bhava-tapam
kesava dhrita-bhrigupati-rupa jaya jagadisa hare (Sri Dasavatara Stotra)

“0 Kesava! O Lord of the universe! O Lord Hari, who has assumed the form of Bhrigupati [Parasurama]! All glories to You! At Kurukshetra, You bathe the earth in the rivers of blood from the bodies of the demoniac Kshatriyas that You have slain. The world’s sins are washed away by You, and because of You, people are relieved from the blazing fire of material existence.”

2.) On Akshaya Tritya, Demigod Sun presented Akshaya Patra to Draupadi and Pandavas. This vessel was a divine vessel where Draupadi could prepare unlimited foodstuffs till she took prasadam.

However, it is essential to note that this vessel was not helpful on other days of the year, and on different days of the year, it would be filled with flowers and incense to cleanse it of its ill-gained impurities.

3- The Holy river Ganga appeared in this material world from the spiritual world on this day. First and foremost, the flow of the Ganga river was controlled by Lord Shiva on his matted hair, and then he released it on Gangotri.

Thus, mother Ganga and Gangotri Dham appeared on Akshaya Tritya.

4.) Akshaya Tritya is the day on which Lord Shri Krishna was welcomed back to Dwarka. Sudama, a close friend of Lord Shri Krishna, came to meet the Lord to secure his and his family’s future.

He presented the Lord with puffed rice, which he had received from friends from afar. The Lord was pleased to accept and consume those puffed rice. Thus the Lord gave him benediction for all his opulence.

5- On Akshaya Tritya, Lord Ganesha started writing Mahabharata, a great epic, under the supervision of Vedvyas Ji. Mahabharata is one of the important scriptures and contains Bhagavad Gita.

This work of fiction tells the tale of a warrior prince named Arjuna who strives to win his throne from his wicked uncle. Vedavyas first wrote down this epic on this auspicious day.

6.) On the day of Akshaya Tritya, the day before the summer solstice and significant because it is the first day of Anant Chaturdashi, a new cart is built for Lord Jagannatha. This cart will be used in rath yatra.

In this tradition, Lord Jagannatha and His brother Lord Baladeva Ji are taken on a procession from Jagannatha temple to Gundicha temple every year. The construction for this cart starts on that day.

7- Shri Madhvendra Puri Ji is an Indian spiritual master who was in his late 20s when he began exploring the path of spirituality. At 27, he renounced the world and became a wandering ascetic for five years before settling at Jagannath Puri. Shri Madhvendra Puri Ji is regarded as a perfect model of devotion to Lord Krishna. He has been celebrated in religious texts from various Gaudiya Vaishnavism traditions and has influenced other religious figures like Sri Radha Krsna devotees and Hare Krishnas.

Madhvendra Puri is an Indian spiritual leader born in Mumbai and lived there until he was eight years old. He proceeded to Jagannath Puri to get some sandalwood, but on the way, he stopped in a small village named Remuna. In Remuna, there was a magnificent and divine temple of Lord Gopinatha Ji, famous for His mahaprasad. It was said that His mahaprasad Kheer, sweet rice, was just like nectar. 

Madhavendra Puri desired to taste it, thinking he would also prepare similar food in Vrindavana and offer it to the Deity of Gopala. Then he immediately realized his offence that he had desired to taste the food before it was offered to the Lord. Repenting to his unholy thought, Madhavendra Puri left the temple. Procrastination is an undesirable habit: In less than a month, we will be launching our website, and our volunteer base will be expanded nationwide. We’re so excited! But some people are more excited than others. Unfortunately, in particular, one person is dragging their feet- and they’re just not going to do it by themselves.

Lord Gopinatha, or Krishna, is a prominent deity of Hinduism. He is also known as Gopinath, Govinda, and Keshava. He is a God of love and devotion who is considered the greatest avatar of Vishnu. In a dream that the temple priest had on that night, Lord Gopinatha instructed him to go to Madhavendra Puri and give him the pot of sweet rice which he had hidden under his garments. So the priest went to Madhavendra Puri, where Lord Gopinatha was so overwhelmed by ecstasy to learn everything from him that he continued his journey and reached Puri, collecting sandalwood and camphor.

Madhavendra Puri had gone on a pilgrimage to Haridwar, but he returned to Remuna on his way back. There, he had a dream in which the Gopala Deity at Vrindavan told him to grind the sandalwood into pulp, mix with camphor and apply it to the body of the Gopinatha Deity. Lord Gopala said that He was non-different from the Deity of Gopinatha. So Madhavendra Puri made all arrangements to carry out the order of Lord Gopala.

A tradition popularly known as Chandan yatra starts from the day of Akshaya Tritya and lasts for 21 days. Chandana-yatra celebrations, Chandana (sandalwood pulp) is applied to the Lord. It is considered very auspicious to start anything, and most people purchase gold on Ashaya Tritya. In Spiritual life, God’s name and His devotional loving service are priceless. That is why today, we should chant the names of God more and more or start chanting the names of God.

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare