The birth of Lord Krishna at midnight under the Rohini nakshatra.
Thursday, 6 August 2026·Shravana Krishna Ashtami, at Nishita (midnight)·Mumbai, Maharashtra
Midnight birth celebration, abhishekam and cradle worship.
Daytime preparations, bhajans and general auspicious activity.
Janmashtami celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. He was born at midnight in a prison in Mathura to Devaki and Vasudeva, under the Rohini nakshatra, to end the tyranny of his uncle Kamsa. Devotees fast through the day and keep vigil until midnight, when the birth is celebrated with abhishekam, the rocking of the infant's cradle (jhula) and jubilant kirtan.
Krishna's birth affirms the divine promise to descend whenever dharma declines and adharma rises. His life - as the mischievous cowherd, the divine lover, and the teacher of the Bhagavad Gita - embodies love, wisdom and righteous action.
To welcome Krishna at his birth-hour, to observe the fast and vigil, and to celebrate the triumph of dharma over tyranny.
A prophecy foretold that the eighth child of Devaki would slay the cruel king Kamsa, so he imprisoned Devaki and Vasudeva and killed each of their children. On the eighth night, amid thunder and rain, Krishna was born; the prison guards fell asleep and the chains broke. Vasudeva carried the infant across the flooded Yamuna, which parted to let him pass while the serpent Shesha sheltered the child with its hoods, and exchanged him for a newborn girl in the household of Nanda and Yashoda in Gokul. That girl, an incarnation of the Goddess, slipped from Kamsa's grasp and foretold his doom. Krishna grew up among the cowherds of Vrindavan and in time returned to fulfil the prophecy.
At Nishita Kala (around midnight), the hour of his birth - shown above for your location.
Krishna was born under Rohini; its coincidence with Ashtami is considered the most auspicious alignment for the vrat.
A next-day custom recalling Krishna's love of butter: teams form human pyramids to break a high-hung pot of curd.