Krishna Janmashtami 2018: PETA India slammed for asking people to use 'vegan' ghee

PETA India turned into the proverbial Kansa Mama on Krishna Janmashtami and provoked outrage after asking people to switch to vegan ghee and 'non-dairy' products on Krishna Janmashtami.

Ghee is an integral part of Lord Krishna’s life. After all, ghee is something Lord Krishna always loved. If you look at paintings and listen to your grandmother’s tales, then there is always an association of Lord Krishna with ghee or as the rest of the world knows it, clarified butter.

So, when PETA India asked people to switch to vegan ghee along with ‘recipe’, people weren’t mighty pleased.  

Janamashtami is marked by grand celebrations at the Krishna temples across India. The festivities are more pronounced in Mathura and Vrindavan, the places where Lord Krishna is believed to have been born and spent his childhood days.

 

SIGNIFICANCE

5000 years ago, during the reign of the brutal King Kansa, Lord Krishna’s maternal uncle, was a power driven and self-obsessed King. He married his sister Devaki to Vasudeva and according to a prophecy it was believed that Devaki’s eighth child would be the one who would end Kansa’s rule, and kill him. Kansa had put Vasudeva and Devika behind bars fearing for his life. He even killed their first six children as soon as they were born. The eighth child, Lord Krishna was born on a day when it was raining heavily with thunder storm.

 Amidst all this, Vasudeva himself carried his baby across a river to his cousin Nanda and his wife Yashoda’s house in Vrindavan. Yashoda is believed to have raised Lord Krishna as her own son. As prophesied, Lord Krishna ended Kansa’s life years later, making Mathura safe again.

Janmashtami, the day that celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna has several stories and folklores related to how Lord Krishna was born.

These folklores talk about how Lord Krishna is the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu but as the story was passed on from generation to generation, there are different versions to how the Lord was born.

India, the land of festivals, celebrates each one with great devotion and happiness with friends and family.

Every festival has a social, religious and mythological value. Janamshtami, the birth anniversary of Lord Krishna, also has great significance from time immemorial. It is believed that Janmashtami is celebrated every year on the 'eighth day' or the 'Ashtami' of the holy month, Shravana, according to the Hindu Lunar calendar. Janmashtami is also known as Gokulashtami, Krishnasthami, Srijayanti. Janmashtami is famous for Dahi Handi in Maharashtra.

 

Various stories of Lord Krishna’s birth

1. It is believed that when Mother Earth saw all the sins that were being committed by violent kings on Earth, she was upset and poured her woes to Lord Brahma who feeling sorry for her said that the only one who could help her would be Narayana, Lord Vishnu. On seeking his help, he told them that he was already aware of the crimes that were taking place and had decided to take birth on Earth as the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. He also said that they would be born on earth too as His helpers.

2. Talking about the evil kings on earth, the worst of them all was King Kansa who was feared by all. So, on the day of his sister's wedding, Devaki, Akash Vani told him that he would be killed by his sister's eigth son bringing all sins on Earth to an end. As he couldn't kill his own sister, he imprisoned her and her husband Vasudeva making sure to kill each one of their child that was born. Until the night Lord Krishna, the eighth child was born. Lord Vishnu appeared in front of the couple that night asking Vasudeva to take away the child to Gokul and replace him with another child that was born the same night. That night as Kansa was going to kill the eighth child, who had been replaced by a girl child, she flew to the sky transforming into goddess Yoshada and said that the divine child had already been born and that his end was near.

3. But Kansa would not stop in his attempt to kill the divine baby that was to take his life. The story of Krishna's birth is taken further by Kansa coming to know that the child had been taken to Gokul. As an attempt to kill the divine baby he specially employed a she-devil Putana. She disguised herself as a nymph and applying poison all over her breasts went on to feed the baby. But the Lord realised Kansa's foul game and the baby is said to have kept sucking the milk, finally even sucking the life out of the demoness.