“Time has changed. Today we have to wait several hours in order to get a glimpse of Lord Krishna,” said Timilsina. “It´s so difficult for aged people like us to come to such crowded place, but I can´t miss worshipping Lord Krishna on his birthday.”[break]
Every year since the past 30 years, Timilisina has been visiting the Krishna Mandir on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami, and in her every visit she has been noticing considerable changes in the celebration.
“The number of devotee has surprisingly increased from the last few years. As a result, we do not get chance to worship.”
According to Timilsina, people were allowed to enter the sanctum where the statute of Lord Krishna is installed, but nowadays people have to see and worship from the door as they are not allowed to enter the room.
“Today, nobody has the patience to wait. Everybody wants to be the first to worship, which creates lots of problems,” she added.
Like Timilsina, thousands of people visited Krishna Mandir on the occasion of Krishna Janmashtami on August 28. The temple was swarming with devotees from different parts of the Kathmandu Valley.
On Krishna Janmashtami, devotees fast for the welfare of their family and spend the whole night by singing devotional songs. Among all the Krishna Mandirs in Kathmandu valley, the temple in Patan is more popular as it is believed that the statue of Lord Krishna was found there. Its unique architecture is also a major draw for people.
According to the mythology, the Krishna Mandir, which is also enlisted as UNESCO´s World Heritage Site, was built after Malla King Siddhi Narsingh Malla dreamed that gods Krishna and Radha standing in front of the royal palace. And the next morning, he ordered to build a temple in front of the palace.
According to Mangal Tol Sudhar Samiti (MTSS), an organization which was given the responsibility to organize Krishna Janmashtami, people thronged the temple from the early morning. As a result, volunteers had to work hard from the early morning in order to manage the crowd. President Ram Baran Yadav visited the Krishna Mandir in the wee hours.
“Although people started visiting from the early morning, the number of visitors has dropped compared to last year,” said Kiran Man Pradhan, president of the MTSS. “It might be because of the rain fall.”
With the help of Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City (LSMC), Nepal Red Cross Society, Nepal Scout and the Nepal Police and various social organizations, MTSS managed the festival at the Krishna Mandir.
VOXPOP
Finally, I got a chance to worship after standing nine hours in a long queue. Though I have kept a fast, I have no idea about the benefits of fasting or why people fast on this day. I am very religious person, so Krishna Janmashtami means a lot to me. I will break my fast at 12am which is regarded as the birth time of lord Krishna by eating yogurt and chapati. On every Krishna Janmashtami, I visit the Krishna Mandir of Patan because I do not want to miss the chance of worshipping Lord Krishna on this auspicious occasion.
Pratibha Chhetri, 23
Bhaisepati
I do not come here for worship as it is very difficult to stand for several hours in a long queue. I just came here (Krishna Mandir) to see the crowd and to enjoy the bhajans. I love such festivities as it provides us a chance to enjoy with family and friends. The trend has changed today. People use to eat different types of fruits on this day but in the past we used to fast without drinking even a drop of water. And we broke our fast at midnight by eating rice with ajwain soup.
Ambika Sapkota, 56
Nuwakot
Krishna Janmashtami is one of my favorite festivals. Although I have to be at my office today as well, I have managed time to worship the Lord Krishna. I found that today´s management team has done commendable job. They have tried their best to manage the huge crowd, helping us to worship the god in time.
Sushila Poudel, 30
Jawalakhel
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Krishna Janmashtami being observed today
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