Janmashtami 2024: Top 5 Krishna temples every devotee must visit once

Devotees across the world celebrate Janmashtami with great fervor Lord Krishnarsquos devotees throng temples especially the ones dedicated to him to celebrate the birth of the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu This year Janmashtami will be observed on August 26Ahead of Janmashtami we bring you the top 5 temples of Lord Krishna that every devotee must visit at least once in their lifetimeSri Krishna Janmasthan Temple Mathura Uttar PradeshMathura considered to be one of the holiest places in India is the place where Lord Krishna spent his childhood Known as Brij Bhoomi it houses a large number of Hindu templesThe Shri Krishna Janmasthan Temple or Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi temple is made on the prison cell where Lord Krishnas parents Devaki and Vasudeva were imprisoned by his uncle Kansa The temple is considered to be extremely holy as Lord Vishnu took the incarnation as Lord KrishnaDuring Janmashtami the temple sees lakhs of devotees It also witnesses heavy crowds on holidays as well as other festivals Inside the main temple there are several other shrines dedicates to Lord Krishna and other deitiesDuring Janmashtami the temple is decorated with lights and flowers and Lord Krishna and Radha are decked up in beautiful attires Artists chant devotional prayers and various scenes from Lord Krishnarsquos childhood are enacted hereAs it is considered that Lord Krishna was born at midnight the priests in the temple bathe the deity with milk and curd and then clothe him in new attire and place his idol They then place his idol in a cradle and devotees rock the cradle while singing his hymns Lord Krishna is offered the Chappan bhog a feast of 56 dishes which is later distributed to his devoteesUnlike the rest of India at Mathura the devotees celebrate the Janmashtami festival for not two but six daysBanke Bihari Temple Vrindavan Uttar PradeshLike the Krishna Janmasthan in Mathura the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan is also considered to be one of the holiest shrines in IndiaThe Banke Bihari Temple was built in 1863 and the idol was brought from Nidhivan another holy site in Vrindavan where Lord Krishna and Radha spent their time togetherThe Mangal aarti is performed in Banke Bihari Temple only once a year ndash on the day of JanmashtamiAfter the last Aarti of the day at 930pm a Srimad Bhagavatam discourse is conducted The entire temple and its periphery are decorated with flowers and lights Inside the temple a special throne is made of gold and silverWhile devotees cannot witness the midnight Maha Abhishek they get to see the idol at 2 amThe deity is offered the panchamrit a mix of milk curd honey ghee and water and then distributed to the devotees Other than this the deity is also offered several other sweetsThen the Mangla aarti is performed at 330am following which another bhog is offered at 5am and the temple is closed at 6am after another aarti and opens later in the dayDwarkadhish Temple Dwarka GujaratThe temple has great spiritual significance among Hindu devotees as Lord Krishna had established his kingdom here in Dwarka Gujarat The existing Dwarkadhish Temple Jagat Mandir is said to have been established more than 2500 years ago by Lord Krishnarsquos great grandson Vajranabh The templersquos sanctum has the main Krishna idol and there are other shrines also at the structure Dwarka is considered one among the Char Dhams or four most revered sites in HinduismJanmashtami and Holi are two days of the year where the temple witnesses heavy footfall On Janmashtami not only the temple but the entire city of Dwarka is decked up with lights and flowers The markets remain open till midnight to cater to the tourists thronging the city for the auspicious day On the next day kids and youth form human pyramids for the Dahi Handi celebrations At night the deity is put to sleep during the Shayan AartiISKCON Temple Juhu MumbaiLocated near famous Juhu beach the ISKCON temple sprawls across a huge area in suburban Mumbai The temple houses the idols of RadhaKrishna Shri Ram Sita Lakshman and Hanuman along with other deities Despite the fact that the temple witnesses heavy crowding on most days especially in the evenings one gets to experience the tranquility and serenity in the temple Apart from the shrine the temple also has a book store an eatery an auditorium as well as a guest house for devotees to meditate and participate in the events of the temple On Janmashtami the Midnight Maha Abhishek will be performed before the deity The devotees are given special Prasad Devotees sing bhajans and dance joyfully to celebrate the birth of their beloved deity On August 26 there will be a Mangala Aarti at 715am followed by a Sringar Darshan at 8am At 1230pm the temple will perform the Bhog Aarti on the occasion of Janmashtami and at 7pm the Sandhya Aarti will be conducted Devotees then await the Midnight Maha Abhishek at 1130 which will go on through midnight At 1am the temple will perform the Midnight Maha Aarti There will be many events in the temple on the occasion of Krishna JanmashtamiKrishna Temple Guruvayur KeralaGuruvayur called the lsquoDwarka of southrsquo is one of the mostvisited Krishna temples in the country Apart from Lord Krishna the temple also has shrines of Lord Ganesha Lord Ayyappa and Goddess Bhagvathy Although the origins of the temple are not known it was revamped in the 17th centuryThe devotees perform the lsquoThulabharamrsquo as a part of the offerings made to the deity Devotees are weighed against various items such as bananas ghee sugar jiggery coconuts and the items are then made as an offering to the deity and then distributed among other devoteesThe temple sees serpentine queues on auspicious days such as Ekadashi On Janmashtami devotees begin lining up for darshan before 3am ndash the time when the temple opens Every corner of the temple is lit up with lamps and the temple opens amid the beats of the drums A large feast which includes the famous paysam is prepared and distributed to the devotees after the bhog is offered to Lord Krishna