Devotees throng temples on Janamashtami

Tribune News Service

Jammu, August 25

Janamashtami — the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna — was celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety in the city today.

A large number of devotees along with their families waited outside temples to have “darshan” of idols of Lord Krishna and offer prayers. All the temples in the city and outskirts were beautifully decorated with flowers, buntings and lights for celebrating the festival.

There was a heavy rush of devotees at the famous Raghunath Temple and Radha-Krishna temples, who came along with their families to offer prayers while chanting “Hare Krishna, Hare Rama”. Special arrangements have also been made by various temple committees for prayers at night too. All temples in the city and on outskirts witnessed heavy rush of devotees. Raghunath Temple, Radha Krishna Temple, Geeta Bhawan, Parade, Radha Krishna Temple in old city, Purani Mandi, Laxmi Narayan temple, Gandhi Nagar, Sarore, were beautifully decorated. The celebrations would continue till midnight, the birth time of Lord Krishna.

Markets in and around the city were abuzz with activity. People were purchasing idols of Lord Krishna and Radha, besides flowers and fruits to perform pooja. Shobha yatras were also taken out in different localities, wherein hundreds of devotees took part.

An impressive shobha yatra was taken out by the J&K Dharmarth Trust, which started from the famous Raghunath Temple. The yatra passed via Shalamar Chowk, Hari Market, Residency Road, Shaheedi Chowk, Rajinder Bazaar, Kanak Mandi, City Chowk, Purani Mandi, Old Hospital Road, Link Road, Jain Bazaar, Chabutra Chowk, Panjtirthi, Mubarak Mandi, Pacca Danga, Moti Bazaar, Sabzi Mandi, Raj Tilak Road, Purani Mandi and culminated at Raghunath Bazaar.

Before the yatra, a pooja was performed by a trustee of the J&K Dharmarth Trust, MLC Vikramaditya Singh, along with president of the trust BR Kundal. Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal, IGP, Jammu, Danish Rana, SSP, Jammu, Dr Sunil Gupta and number of devotees participated in the pooja. Besides that “jhankis” on the life of Lord Krishna were displayed by various temple committees and religious organisations.

The shobha yatra was jointly organised by the J&K Dharmarth Trust and Sanatan Dharam Sabha (SDS), Jammu. The notable feature of the yatra was a rousing welcome by members of the Muslim community at Khatikan Talab. Over 100 prominent members of the community had gathered to greet the shobha yatra to keep the traditional and age-old brotherhood alive.

The main attractions of the shoba yatra were “jhankis” by the Sanatan Dharam Sabha, ISKCON, Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Natak Samaj, Raghunath Mandir, Deewana Mandir and Purani Mandi Mandir. Students of Sanskrit Mahavidhyalay, Birpur, also participated in the religious event.