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Gopashtami (

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Gopāṣṭamī) is a festival that is dedicated to

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

and cows. It is the coming-of-age celebration when Krishna's father,

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

Maharaja, gave Krishna the responsibility for taking care of the cows of

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

Significance

Nanda Maharaj is the father of Lord Sri Krishna. Those days children were given the charge to take care of the calves. Both Lord Krishna and

Balarama Balarama (Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Balad ...

having passed their fifth year, cowherd men conferred and agreed to give those boys who had passed their fifth year charge of the cows in the pasturing ground. Nanda Maharaj decided to organise a ceremony for Lord Krishna and Balarama while going for cow grazing for the first time in NANDGAON.

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

, Lord Krishna's divine consort, wanted to graze cows but was denied of being a girl. So, she disguised herself in a boy because of her resemblance to Subala-sakha, She put on his dhoti and garments and joined Lord Krishna for cow herding along with her companions for funs. The festival is celebrated on the eighth day in the bright half of Karthik month.

Celebrations

Go-puja is done on this day. Devotees visit the gosala, bathe and clean the cows and the gosala. Cows are decorated with cloth and jewellery before offering special ritual by the devotees. Special fodders are fed for good health and special drive is organized for its preservation. On this day, Sri Krishna puja and cow Puja is performed along with pradakshina to acquire blessing for a good and happier life. Devotees also pay special respect to cows for its utilities in daily life. Cows provide milk that helps in fulfilling the nutritional requirement of the people like a mother. This is why cows are held sacred and worshipped in Hindu religion as a mother. The glories of the cow and her protection are discussed by senior devotees. All of them feed the cows and take part in a feast near the gosala.

References

{{Reflist Krishna Hindu festivals

Significance

Celebrations

See also

References