Janmashtami 2022: Mystery Of Number 8 In The Life Of Lord Krishna

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Whenever evil rose on the Earth, God has taken birth to restore balance and establish righteousness. He has freed the world from the clutches of demons several times, as our scripture and holy books tell us. He has incarnated on the Earth and proved to the world, the eternal truth of his existence. This year, Janmashtami will be observed on 18 August.

Lord Krishna's Birthday Celebrated As Janmashtami

Lord Krishna was one of these incarnations. Born to establish the Dharma, he killed his own maternal uncle, and played against the Kauravas, to save the world from their tyranny. Lord Krishna was the eighth avatar of Lord Vishnu, born on the eighth day, during the dark phase or Krishna Paksha as they call it, in the month of Bhadrapad. According to the South Indian calendar, the day falls in the Shravana month. The difference is only in the names of the month; the day falls on the same day in both southern as well as northern parts of the country. His birthday is celebrated as Janmashtami, also known as Krishna Ashtami, Gokul Ashtami, Rohini Ashtami, etc.

Here, we have brought you some incredible facts about Lord Krishna, the most popular form of Lord Vishnu. Though we have heard a lot of stories about his invincible prowess and miracles, a lot more have to be told about the incredible character.

The Mystery Of Eight In The Life Of Krishna

A prophecy was made before the birth of Lord Krishna, that the eighth child of Devaki and Vasudeva would bring death to Kamsa and an end to his tyranny. Born in the cell, where Kamsa had captivated Devaki and Vasudeva, Lord Krishna was born as that eighth child. Moreover, the Tithi (date as per the Hindu calendar) too was, Ashtami (eighth day). Not just this, he was born in the eighth Muhurta of the night. Thus the number eight becomes significant in association with him.

Another occurrence of this number was seen in terms of the number of queens he had. Though Krishna married sixteen thousand women, in order to protect them, only eight of them were queens. Rukmani, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Mitravanda, Satya, Lakshmana, Bhadra and Kalindi were the eight queens.

Krishna Was Young Even At The Age Of 119

Though Lord Krishna was born in Mathura, he spent his life in Gokul, Vrindavan, Dwarka and Barsana. He fell in love with Radha and their love story continues to inspire us today. It is said that Lord Krishna was good-looking and would win the heart of every woman who saw him. In fact, he is believed to have been young even when he died at the age of 119 years.

Krishna Was Born At Midnight

It is said, that it is the devil's hour post-midnight and until morning, and divinity prevails only before midnight. Since Lord Krishna was born exactly at the midnight hour, we believe that he had come to counter the power of the demons. God being born at a time when the power of the devil is prominent, was an indication of the world being liberated of the demons. As per modern timings, the time from 12:00 am to 4:00 am is believed to be dominated by demons; but it is believed that no demonic energies prevail there in the environment on Janmashtami night, post the birth of Lord Krishna.