Mathura Krishna’s Janmabhoomi
Mathura is the birthplace of Krishna - the city where, at midnight in a prison cell, the eighth child of Devaki was born to end the tyranny of Kamsa. Nowhere is Janmashtami kept more grandly than at the Shri Krishna Janmasthan.
Janmashtami Friday, 4 September 2026·Mathura
The birthplace of Krishna
The tyrant Kamsa, warned by a prophecy that his sister Devaki’s eighth child would slay him, imprisoned her and her husband Vasudeva in Mathura and killed each of their children as it was born. When the eighth, Krishna, was born at midnight, the guards fell into a deep sleep, the shackles opened and the prison doors swung wide. Vasudeva carried the infant across the storm-swollen Yamuna - the waters parting as the serpent Shesha sheltered the child from the rain - to safety in Gokul. That prison cell is the Shri Krishna Janmasthan.
Janmashtami at the Janmasthan
Through the night the Janmasthan keeps vigil. At the Nishita (midnight) hour the deity of the infant Krishna is brought out and bathed in the maha-abhishekam of panchamrit, then dressed, adorned and placed in a jewelled cradle; the Mangala aarti is offered and the whole complex erupts in kirtan and the cry of “Nanda ke anand bhayo, Jai Kanhaiya Lal ki”. Jhankis - tableaux of Krishna’s life - line the halls, and pilgrims from across the world fill the courtyards. The next morning brings Nandotsav, this year on Saturday, 5 September 2026, when Nanda Baba’s joy is shared with sweets, gifts and the Dahi Kala.
The sacred sites of Mathura
Beyond the Janmasthan, the old city holds a web of shrines and ghats bound to Krishna’s story - from the tank where his baby clothes were washed to the ghat where he rested after Kamsa’s fall.
The exact birthplace - a shrine built around the prison cell where Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudeva. Deep within, the Garbha Griha marks the spot; on Janmashtami it holds the grandest midnight abhishekam of all, the deity of the infant Krishna bathed in panchamrit as the crowd keeps vigil.
The principal temple of the Janmasthan, with the Bhagavata Bhavan and its shrines to the leelas of Krishna's life. The complex has one of the most storied - and long-contested - histories of any Hindu site, razed and rebuilt many times over the centuries; the present temples were rebuilt in the twentieth century.
Mathura's grand nineteenth-century temple, honouring Krishna as the king of Dwarka. Its jhankis (tableaux), swings and processions make it a second great centre of the city's Janmashtami - and of its famous Holi.
The chief of Mathura's ghats, where Krishna is said to have rested (vishram) after slaying the tyrant Kamsa. The evening Yamuna aarti here is a daily spectacle, and the ghat is the traditional start of the Mathura parikrama.
The sacred stepped tank next to the birthplace, where tradition says the infant Krishna's first clothes (potre) were washed. Its still green water mirrors the Janmasthan towers above.
Frequently asked questions
Where exactly was Krishna born?
In a prison cell in Mathura where the tyrant Kamsa held his sister Devaki and her husband Vasudeva. That very spot is enshrined today as the Shri Krishna Janmasthan (Janmabhoomi), with the Garbha Griha marking the place of the birth.
How is Janmashtami celebrated at the Janmasthan?
With a night-long vigil culminating in the midnight maha-abhishekam of the infant Krishna, the Mangala aarti, jhankis depicting his life, and jubilant kirtan - followed the next morning by Nandotsav, the joy of Nanda Baba at Krishna's arrival.
When is Janmashtami in Mathura this year?
In 2026, Krishna Janmashtami falls on Friday, 4 September 2026 in Mathura, with the midnight abhishekam at the Janmasthan and Nandotsav on Saturday, 5 September 2026.
What is Vishram Ghat?
The main ghat on the Yamuna at Mathura, where Krishna is said to have rested after slaying Kamsa. Its evening Yamuna aarti is famous, and it marks the start of the Mathura parikrama.
Last updated 28 July 2026