Police
Krishna Janmashtami, celebrated with the 'Dahi Handi' in Maharashtra, falls in which Hindu month?
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option D — Bhadrapada
Detailed Solution
Krishna Janmashtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, is celebrated on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark half (Krishna Paksha) of the month of Bhadrapada, according to the Purnimanta calendar followed in North India. In the Amanta calendar followed in parts of South and West India, the same day falls in the month of Shravana. It usually falls in August or September.
Lord Krishna is the eighth avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu. According to the Bhagavata Purana, he was born at midnight in a prison in Mathura, where his parents, Devaki and Vasudeva, had been imprisoned by Devaki's brother, the cruel King Kansa. A prophecy had foretold that Devaki's eighth son would kill Kansa, so Kansa had killed all her earlier children. On the night of Krishna's birth, the prison guards fell asleep and the doors opened miraculously. Vasudeva carried the newborn Krishna across the flooded Yamuna river to Gokul, where he was brought up by Nanda and Yashoda.
On Janmashtami, devotees fast until midnight, the time of Krishna's birth, and visit temples, which are decorated with flowers and lights. Images of the infant Krishna (Bal Gopal) are bathed, dressed in new clothes and placed in cradles. Devotees sing bhajans and kirtans, and dramas depicting the life of Krishna (Rasleela) are performed. The festival is celebrated with great devotion in Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul and Dwarka, and at ISKCON temples around the world.
In Maharashtra, especially in Mumbai, the day after Janmashtami is celebrated with the "Dahi Handi", in which young men, called "Govindas", form human pyramids to reach and break an earthen pot filled with curd, butter and milk, hung high above the street. This recreates the childhood pranks of Krishna, who loved butter (makhan) and would climb up to steal it from the pots of the gopis.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Kartika is the month of Diwali.
- ✗Chaitra is the month of Ram Navami.
- ✗Magha is the month of Vasant Panchami.
Quick tip
Remember: Janmashtami = Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami (midnight birth in Kansa's prison in Mathura) and the Dahi Handi of Maharashtra.
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore Festivals & Fairs of India Questions
View all ›- Q1.The Sarhul festival of Jharkhand, celebrated with traditional dances when the sal trees blossom, is especially associated with which tribe?
- Q2.'Chad Sukra', a popular traditional dance festival of the Pnar (Jaintia) people of Meghalaya, is celebrated as a:
- Q3.Which festival, celebrated in Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, honours Gogaji, the folk deity worshipped as a protector against snakes?
- Q4.The 'Doul Utsav', a celebration of Holi linked with the Vaishnava satras, is mainly celebrated in which state?
- Q5.The Bhagoria festival of the Bhil tribes of Madhya Pradesh is associated with which major festival?
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.