On Tuesday 4th September 2007, Hindus will celebrate Janmashtami, a festival to mark the birth of Lord Krishna, the most loved deity of the many Indian gods.
JANMASHTAMI CELEBRATIONS
In Janmashtami, the devotees of Krishna stay awake singing bhajans - traditional songs - until midnight, the time it's said he was born.
People often fast all day and eat only after the midnight birth ceremony.
MIDNIGHT BIRTH CEREMONY
Often the image of the baby Krishna is placed on a cradle with an effigy of a cobra above him. This represents the giant snake that, legend has it, protected him.
Priests chant holy mantras and pour special substances from a conch shell onto the idol. These include Gangajal (water from the holy Ganges river), milk, ghee (clarified butter), oil, and honey.
Midnight prayers, hymns and religious songs are performed to celebrate the god.
THE LEGEND OF KRISHNA'S BIRTH
Legend tells how Krishna was born in an extraordinary way and live an equally extraordinary life.
At the time of his birth, Krishna's parents Devaki and Vasudevm, were imprisioned by Devaki's evil brother Kansha.
He kept them under lock and key because, it had been foretold, the eighth son of his sister would kill him and Kansha wanted to ensure all the babies were slayed as soon as they were born to protect himself.
The evil Kansha killed his sister's seven children one by one but when Krishna was born, divine intervention saved his life.
Krishna, who came to the world to rid it of all evil, was born on a dark rainy night at midnight.
The guards had miraculously fallen into such a deep sleep they did not know he had been born and so could not tell the king - sparing his life.
The father whisked the baby to Gokul and to safety, helped by a number of miraculous events on the journey.
Obstacles cleared from their way but, most miraculous of all, they were protected by a giant snake called the Adisesha.
Krishna grew up peacefully in Gokul. Even as a child he performed several miracles and his exploits are now the immortal legends of Braj.
He killed a number of asuras, vanquished the Kali Nag and later on he killed King Kansha too, fulfilling the prophesy and ending his evil reign.
