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Krishna paksha · Shravana · amanta reckoning
Wed, 25 Aug
Krishna Janmashtami 2027 is on Wednesday, 25 August. It is Ashtami of Krishna paksha in Shravana.
2028: Sunday, 13 August 2028
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Wednesday, 25 August 2027
Krishna Janmashtami is not a Gregorian date. It is Krishna paksha tithi 8 of Shravana in the amanta reckoning, and the Gregorian day it lands on moves by up to a month between years because twelve lunations fall about eleven days short of a solar year.
Sunrise in New Delhi falls at 5:55 AM on that day, and that is the instant the tithi has to be running at for the day to carry the observance. It is computed for this city rather than assumed, because it is what decides the date.
The two instants above are the astronomy and are not in dispute. The day is an interpretation of them: this observance is decided at sunrise, so it belongs to the day whose sunrise the tithi carries — not simply to the day the tithi begins.
Krishna Janmashtami is the night of Krishna's birth, on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the dark fortnight of Bhadrapada in the North's reckoning: devotees fast through the day and worship the infant Krishna at midnight, the hour he was born in Kamsa's prison at Mathura. In New Delhi the date is Wednesday, 25 August 2027, and the Nishita puja, the midnight worship, is 26 Aug, 12:01 AM to 12:45 AM. The fast is broken by custom after the midnight puja (after 26 Aug, 12:45 AM) or, by the dharma-shastra rule, after 26 Aug, 11:42 AM.
| Muhurat | Time in New Delhi | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Nishita puja muhurat | 26 Aug, 12:01 AM to 12:45 AMNishita kaal on the Janmashtami night. | Nishita kaal, the eighth of the night's fifteen muhurtas, around the middle of the night: the time Krishna was born, and the window for the abhishek, the birth celebration and the aarti. Begin the preparations a little earlier so that the birth itself falls inside it. |
| The midnight moment | 26 Aug, 12:23 AMThe middle of the night, between sunset and the next sunrise. | The exact middle of the night, halfway between sunset and the next sunrise, when bells, conches and the cry Nand ke anand bhayo greet the birth in temples and homes. |
| Parana after the midnight puja (modern custom) | after 26 Aug, 12:45 AMThe modern custom: the fast is broken after the nishita puja, once nishita kaal is over. | Most households today break the fast once the midnight puja is over and nishita has ended, with the prasad of panchamrit, panjiri and fruit. |
| Parana by the dharma-shastra rule | after 26 Aug, 11:42 AMDharma-shastra parana: after sunrise once Ashtami and Rohini have both ended (or one of them, if both run past sunset). | The classical rule breaks the fast the next day, after sunrise, once both Ashtami and Rohini nakshatra have ended; when both do not end by sunset, once either has. Smarta families who follow it eat the next morning or afternoon, as the time shows. |
| Rohini Nakshatra | 12:28 PM to 11:42 AM (26 Aug)When the Moon is in Rohini nakshatra around Janmashtami. | Krishna was born in Rohini nakshatra. When Rohini joins Ashtami the day is called Jayanti and held especially sacred; Vaishnava calendars give it great weight in fixing their date. The times show when the Moon is in Rohini around the festival. |
| Moonrise | 11:36 PMThe first moonrise after this sunrise and before the next. | In many North Indian homes the moon, rising late on this Ashtami night, is offered arghya before the midnight puja, since Krishna was born in the lunar dynasty. |
| Pradosh Kaal | 6:51 PM to 9:04 PMFrom sunset for three night muhurtas (a fifth of the night). | The evening after sunset, for the evening aarti, kirtan, jhankis and the reading of the birth story while the household waits for midnight. |
| Sunrise | 5:55 AMThe upper edge of the Sun on the horizon, with refraction. | The fast begins at sunrise with the sankalp, and Vaishnava calendars decide their date by the Ashtami that holds sunrise. |
| Window | Time in New Delhi | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Amrit Kaal | 10:05 AM to 11:40 AM | Most Auspicious |
| Brahma Muhurat | 4:26 AM to 5:11 AM | Auspicious |
These are the spans classical muhurta sets aside for beginnings. They are descriptions of a convention, not warnings: the observance is kept on its day regardless, and nothing here needs to be bought, corrected or remedied.
| Window | Time in New Delhi |
|---|---|
| Rahu Kaal | 12:23 PM to 2:00 PM |
| Yamaganda Kaal | 7:32 AM to 9:09 AM |
| Durmuhurta First | 11:57 AM to 12:49 PM |
| Varjyam | 3:57 AM to 5:30 AM |
Every time above is computed for New Delhi around Wednesday, 25 August 2027, from the sunrise, sunset and the positions of the Sun and Moon for this city. The Vedic day runs sunrise to sunrise, so a window whose clock time falls after midnight still belongs to the evening before; a time on another date carries that date.
Bathe early and, holding water, rice and a flower, resolve to keep the Janmashtami fast and worship Krishna at midnight. Choose the fast you can keep: nirjala, without water, or with fruit, milk and water (phalahar).
Clean the puja corner and set up a small cradle (palna or jhula) for Laddu Gopal, decorated with flowers and cloth. Many families build a jhanki of the prison at Mathura, the Yamuna crossing and Gokul.
Spend the day in kirtan and in reading the birth chapters of the Bhagavata Purana (Skandha ten) or the Bhagavad Gita. Prepare the panchamrit, dhaniya panjiri, makhan-mishri and the bhog before night.
Light a lamp at dusk, offer flowers and sing bhajans; in North India many offer arghya to the moon when it rises.
As the Nishita muhurat approaches, worship Ganesh with Om Gam Ganapataye Namah and renew the sankalp for the birth puja.
At midnight, ring the bell, blow the conch and welcome the child: many families keep Laddu Gopal covered until this moment, and in many North Indian homes a cucumber with its stalk is cut at midnight as a sign of the birth.
Bathe the idol with panchamrit (milk, curd, ghee, honey and sugar), then Ganga jal and clean water, while chanting Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. Keep the panchamrit as prasad.
Dress Laddu Gopal in new clothes, with a peacock-feather crown, a flute and ornaments; apply sandalwood, offer tulsi and flowers, and place him in the cradle.
Offer makhan-mishri, dhaniya panjiri, panchamrit, fruits, sweets and, where families can, the chhappan bhog of fifty-six dishes. Put a tulsi leaf on every offering.
Swing the cradle gently and sing Nand ke anand bhayo, jai Kanhaiya lal ki, and lullabies for the child.
Sing Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki with a ghee lamp or camphor, offer flowers and ask pardon for any mistake.
Break the fast as your tradition says: after the midnight puja with the prasad, or the next day after Ashtami and Rohini have ended. Share the prasad with everyone.
Celebrate Krishna's arrival in Nanda's house with Nandotsav, Dahi Handi in Maharashtra and Gopalkala, and give food and clothes to those in need.
ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
Meaning: Om, salutation to the Lord Vasudeva, Krishna son of Vasudeva.
When and how: 108 times on a tulsi mala during the day of the fast, and while bathing the idol at midnight.
कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने ।
प्रणतक्लेशनाशाय गोविन्दाय नमो नमः ॥
Krishnaya Vasudevaya Haraye Paramatmane
Pranata-klesha-nashaya Govindaya namo namah
Meaning: Salutation again and again to Krishna, son of Vasudeva, to Hari, the supreme self, to Govinda, who destroys the suffering of those who bow to him.
When and how: From the Bhagavata Purana (Skandha ten), the prayer of the kings Krishna freed; say it with folded hands at the start of the midnight puja.
हरे राम हरे राम राम राम हरे हरे ।
हरे कृष्ण हरे कृष्ण कृष्ण कृष्ण हरे हरे ॥
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Meaning: Sixteen names of the Lord, a call to Hari, Rama and Krishna; the Kali-Santarana Upanishad teaches it with the Hare Rama half first, and the Gaudiya tradition sings the Hare Krishna half first.
When and how: Sung in kirtan through the day and night; ISKCON devotees chant it on a mala of 108 beads.
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत ।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदात्मानं सृजाम्यहम् ॥
परित्राणाय साधूनां विनाशाय च दुष्कृताम् ।
धर्मसंस्थापनार्थाय सम्भवामि युगे युगे ॥
Yada yada hi dharmasya glanir bhavati Bharata
Abhyutthanam adharmasya tadatmanam srijamyaham
Paritranaya sadhunam vinashaya cha dushkritam
Dharma-samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge
Meaning: Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, O Bharata, I bring myself forth. To protect the good, to destroy the wicked and to establish dharma, I am born age after age.
When and how: Bhagavad Gita, chapter four, verses seven and eight: Krishna's own words on why he is born. Recite them before the birth at midnight.
ॐ गं गणपतये नमः
Om Gam Ganapataye Namah
Meaning: Om, gam: salutation to Ganapati, lord of the ganas.
When and how: Before the midnight puja, 11 times.
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
गले में बैजंती माला, बजावै मुरली मधुर बाला।
श्रवण में कुण्डल झलकाला, नंद के आनंद नंदलाला।
गगन सम अंग कांति काली, राधिका चमक रही आली।
लतन में ठाढ़े बनमाली,
भ्रमर सी अलक, कस्तूरी तिलक, चंद्र सी झलक,
ललित छवि श्यामा प्यारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
कनकमय मोर मुकुट बिलसै, देवता दरसन को तरसैं।
गगन सों सुमन रासि बरसै।
बजे मुरचंग, मधुर मिरदंग, ग्वालिन संग,
अतुल रति गोप कुमारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
जहां ते प्रकट भई गंगा, सकल मन हारिणि श्री गंगा।
स्मरन ते होत मोह भंगा,
बसी शिव सीस, जटा के बीच, हरै अघ कीच,
चरन छवि श्रीबनवारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
चमकती उज्ज्वल तट रेनू, बज रही वृंदावन बेनू।
चहुं दिसि गोपि ग्वाल धेनू,
हंसत मृदु मंद, चांदनी चंद, कटत भव फंद,
टेर सुन दीन दुखारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
आरती कुंजबिहारी की, श्री गिरिधर कृष्ण मुरारी की॥
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Gale mein baijanti mala, bajavai murli madhur bala.
Shravan mein kundal jhalkala, Nand ke anand Nandlala.
Gagan sam ang kanti kali, Radhika chamak rahi aali.
Latan mein thadhe Banmali,
Bhramar si alak, kasturi tilak, chandra si jhalak,
Lalit chhavi Shyama pyari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Kanakmay mor mukut bilsai, devta darsan ko tarsain.
Gagan son suman rasi barsai.
Baje murchang, madhur mirdang, gwalin sang,
Atul rati gop kumari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Jahan te prakat bhai Ganga, sakal man harini Shri Ganga.
Smaran te hot moh bhanga,
Basi Shiv sees, jata ke beech, harai agh keech,
Charan chhavi Shri Banwari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Chamakti ujjwal tat renu, baj rahi Vrindavan benu.
Chahun disi gopi gwal dhenu,
Hansat mridu mand, chandni chand, katat bhav phand,
Ter sun deen dukhari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Aarti Kunjbihari ki, Shri Giridhar Krishna Murari ki.
Text as it is commonly sung. The Gita Press Aarti Sangrah prints it in Braj spelling ('Girdhar', 'Krishnamurari', 'Brindaban') and reads 'sakal-mal-harini Shri Ganga', remover of all impurity, for 'sakal man harini Shri Ganga'. Printed text
The Bhagavata Purana tells how Kamsa, the tyrant king of Mathura, was driving his sister Devaki and her husband Vasudeva home from their wedding when a voice from the sky warned that Devaki's eighth child would kill him. Kamsa threw them into prison and killed each of their children as it was born. The seventh, Balarama, was carried away by Vishnu's power (Yogamaya) to the womb of Rohini in Gokul.
The eighth child was born at midnight on the Ashtami of the dark fortnight, in Rohini nakshatra. Vishnu appeared to the parents in his four-armed form, then became an ordinary infant. The guards fell asleep, the chains fell open and the prison doors swung wide. Vasudeva placed the baby in a basket on his head and set out through the stormy night; the Yamuna, in flood, parted to let him pass, and the serpent Shesha spread his hoods over the child against the rain.
In Gokul, Vasudeva laid his son beside Yashoda, wife of Nanda, who had just given birth to a girl, and carried the girl back to the prison. When Kamsa came to kill her, she slipped from his hands, rose into the sky as the goddess Yogamaya and told him that the one who would destroy him was already born and safe. In the morning Nanda's house woke to a son, and all of Gokul celebrated, which is remembered the next day as Nandotsav.
Krishna grew up among the cowherds of Gokul and Vrindavan, the butter-stealing child of countless stories, and returned to Mathura to end Kamsa's tyranny, as the voice had foretold.
Krishna's birth is the avatar's promise kept: in the Bhagavad Gita he says he is born age after age to protect the good and restore dharma. Devotees keep the day as the birthday of a beloved child as much as of God, with a fast, a midnight birth, a cradle and lullabies. In the Gita's tradition the fast is not a hardship for its own sake but a way of keeping the mind on Krishna until he comes.
Janmashtami often appears on two dates. Households that follow the Smarta panchang keep the night when Ashtami holds the middle of the night (nishita); Vaishnava communities, ISKCON among them, keep the day whose sunrise Ashtami holds, avoid an Ashtami that began on Saptami's night and give great weight to Rohini. In many years both fall on the same day; when they differ, the Vaishnava date is usually the later one. The parana differs too, as the times above show. Follow the calendar of your family or temple.
Set up a small cradle for Laddu Gopal and rock it at midnight; families keep it as a prayer for a home full of joy and children's laughter.
Place a tulsi leaf on every bhog for Krishna, plucked before the day ends; tradition holds that no offering to him is complete without it.
Read the birth chapters of the Bhagavata Purana, or chapter four of the Gita, during the day, alone or with the family.
Feed cows or give to a gaushala on the day, for Krishna the cowherd, Gopala.
Make the simple bhog yourself, with care and devotion; tradition values the offering made with love above an elaborate one.
Keep a peacock feather in the puja corner, as Krishna wears one in his crown; it is a folk custom of devotion.
Give sweets, toys, books or clothes to children in need on the birthday of the divine child.
Two years back, this year, and two ahead. Past years are kept rather than dropped so you can check the engine against a calendar you already have.
| Year | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Monday, 26 August 2024 | past |
| 2025 | Saturday, 16 August 2025 | past |
| 2026This year | Friday, 4 September 2026 | past |
| 2027 | Wednesday, 25 August 2027 | upcoming |
| 2028 | Sunday, 13 August 2028 | upcoming |
Every row is computed for New Delhi from the same ephemeris, not looked up. Sunrise decides which day a tithi names, and sunrise differs across India by more than an hour, so a date computed for Delhi can be a day out elsewhere.
In 2027, for New Delhi: Some calendars print the parana at sunrise the next morning. The dharma-shastra rule waits until Ashtami and Rohini nakshatra have both ended: 11:42 AM on 26 August this year. Families who keep the midnight custom break the fast after 12:45 AM.
There is no single authority that settles a Hindu festival date, and the divergence is genuine rather than sloppy. Three causes account for almost all of it.
So this page shows its working. If your pandit or your family almanac gives a different day, the instants above will usually show you exactly why — and that is more useful than a date asserted without one.
Wednesday, 25 August 2027. It is Ashtami of Krishna paksha in Shravana, and that tithi runs from 24 Aug, 8:25 PM to 25 Aug, 7:20 PM.
Three honest reasons. The tithi can be running at the deciding moment on two days or on none. North India reckons the month purnimanta and the south and west amanta, which names the same krishna fortnight differently. And almanacs differ on which moment of the day decides an observance. The instants above are the astronomy; the day is an interpretation of them.
In New Delhi, Janmashtami falls on Wednesday, 25 August 2027. The Nishita puja, the midnight worship of Krishna's birth, is 26 Aug, 12:01 AM to 12:45 AM, and the middle of the night is 26 Aug, 12:23 AM. Ashtami runs 8:25 PM (24 Aug) to 7:20 PM. Times change by city, so choose yours on this page.
Smarta households keep the night when Ashtami holds the middle of the night; Vaishnava communities, ISKCON among them, keep the day whose sunrise Ashtami holds, avoid an Ashtami that began on Saptami's night and give weight to Rohini. In many years both fall on the same day; when they differ, the ISKCON date is usually the later one. This page gives Wednesday, 25 August 2027; check your temple's calendar.
Two customs are followed. Most households break the fast after the midnight puja, once nishita is over: after 26 Aug, 12:45 AM. The dharma-shastra rule followed by many Smarta families breaks it the next day after sunrise, once both Ashtami and Rohini have ended: after 26 Aug, 11:42 AM. ISKCON devotees break it after the midnight aarti with a grain-free feast.
Take a sankalp in the morning and fast until the midnight puja or the parana. Some keep it nirjala, without water; most take water, milk, fruit and phalahari food such as sabudana, makhana or kuttu, avoiding grains, onion and garlic. Those who are unwell, pregnant, elderly or on medication should keep a light fast; devotion matters more than hardship.
Prepare a cradle and the bhog during the day. Near midnight worship Ganesh, take a sankalp, then welcome the birth with bells and the conch, bathe Laddu Gopal with panchamrit and Ganga jal, dress him in new clothes with a peacock-feather crown, offer tulsi, makhan-mishri and panjiri, place him in the cradle, sing and do the aarti, all in the Nishita muhurat, 26 Aug, 12:01 AM to 12:45 AM.
A Laddu Gopal or Bal Krishna idol, a cradle, new clothes with a crown and flute, panchamrit, Ganga jal, tulsi leaves, makhan-mishri, dhaniya panjiri, fruits including a cucumber with its stalk, sweets, sandalwood, roli, flowers, a ghee lamp, camphor, incense, a bell and a conch. The full list above gives substitutes.
Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya, 108 times, and Krishnaya Vasudevaya Haraye Paramatmane from the Bhagavata Purana at the start of the midnight puja. Kirtan of the Hare Krishna mahamantra fills the day, and the Gita's verses Yada yada hi dharmasya are recited before the birth. The texts and meanings are in the mantra section.
Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki, Shri Girdhar Krishna Murari Ki, sung with a ghee lamp after the midnight abhishek and shringar. The full text, in Devanagari and roman, is above; many families also sing Om Jai Jagdish Hare.
Kamsa imprisoned his sister Devaki and Vasudeva after a voice foretold that their eighth child would kill him. Krishna was born at midnight in the prison; the guards slept, the chains fell away and Vasudeva carried him across the flooded Yamuna to Gokul, leaving him with Yashoda and Nanda. The full katha, from the Bhagavata Purana, is above.
To celebrate the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, who in the Gita promises to be born whenever dharma declines. Devotees fast, keep vigil and welcome him at midnight as a newborn, and the next day celebrate his arrival in Nanda's house.
In New Delhi, moonrise on the Janmashtami night is 11:36 PM. In many North Indian homes the moon is offered arghya when it rises, before the midnight puja, since Krishna was born in the lunar dynasty.
Krishna was born in Rohini nakshatra, so an Ashtami joined with Rohini, called Jayanti, is held especially sacred, and Vaishnava calendars give it weight in choosing their date. In New Delhi, Rohini runs 12:28 PM to 11:42 AM (26 Aug); the dharma-shastra parana also waits for it to end.
Chhappan bhog is an offering of fifty-six dishes: milk sweets such as rabri and peda, makhan-mishri, kheer, laddoos, rice and dal dishes, puris, vegetables, fruits, dry fruit, pickles, chutneys and drinks. Popular tradition says Krishna ate eight meals a day and missed them for seven days while holding up Govardhan, so seven times eight dishes are offered. A simple bhog made with love is just as welcome.
On the day after Janmashtami, Maharashtra and other regions remember the child Krishna stealing butter: teams of govindas form human pyramids to break a pot of curd (handi) hung high above the street, and Gopalkala is shared. Follow local safety rules about heights and children.
Mathura's Krishna Janmabhoomi temple celebrates the birth at midnight with abhishek and bells, and Vrindavan's temples hold all-night darshan; the Banke Bihari temple's mangala aarti is held only on this night. The next day all of Braj keeps Nandotsav, with curd and turmeric sprinkled in celebration.
