Nowadays a common question arises in people's mind: Whenever a big festival comes, why is it celebrated twice? Along with this, a state of confusion arises in the society - because some people celebrate the festival on one day and some people celebrate it on the other day. In this way it becomes a matter of concern and religious in the society - like for example, there is a controversy about celebrating Shri Krishna Janmashtami on two different dates. Do we really get the merits of the festival by doing this or not? In this article, first of all we will try to understand what is the reason for celebrating the festival twice.

Importance of Janmashtami

Krishna Janmashtami 2025 has a great importance in Sanatan Hindu culture, there are some important reasons for this, the first reason is that Lord Shri Krishna is said to be the 16-fold incarnation of Lord Vishnu, it is written in Brahma Vaivart Purana that Lord Krishna is God himself, he is not an incarnation, this is a religious opinion, along with this, if we talk about modern or scientific opinion, then there are three main pillars of Sanatan Dharma, first is Veda Upanishad, second is Vedanta Brahmasutra, third is Bhagwatgeet. Vedas are said to be apaurusheya, apaurusheya means that no one created the Vedas, and the creator of Brahmasutra is Maharishi Vedvyas and Geeta gives the knowledge of transforming a common man from animal to human. It gives the knowledge to manage one's life in the right way and teaches the art of living in this society and how to do good to the society and how to live life with religion, Gita tells all this to the people and the society, so the one who tells this Gita, Lord Krishna, who gives the knowledge of Gita, has told the importance of karma in Sanatan Dharma, not only in India but he has many followers worldwide and he has a great importance in Sanatan Dharma, so his birthday becomes special.

Reason for two Janmashtami

The reason for two Janmashtami is that there are two different sects in Sanatan Dharma, the first sect is Smarta and Vaishnava.

Smarta (Smarta) is called those people who live a household life. And who have children, family, wife, etc. In Sanatan Dharma, separate rules have been determined for these people because whoever (Smarta) people or householders are selfish, they have desires. Many are related to worldly life, therefore in Sanatan Dharma, fasting, etc. are done for them because they wish to get the desired result, therefore, there are different rules for them to observe fasts and festivals and second in this is Vaishnav. Vaishnav is called Vaishnav in Sanatan Dharma who are detached, sadhu, sanyasi, who have nothing to do with the life of suffering, who are celibate from childhood, who are not married and do not have children, they do selfless devotion and devote their life only to God. So the rules for them are also different from those for householders. This is the main reason for two festivals in Sanatan Dharma. Now the confusion that arises in this is also because if the Government of India celebrates any festival, like on Shri Krishna Janmashtami, the Government of India declares a holiday on the day Shri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated in the main temple of Shri Krishna Janmabhoomi Mathura. And because most of the big temples are owned by Vaishnav renounced sanyasis, that Vaishnav day itself becomes a holiday for the Government of India. Due to this, the biggest confusion arises automatically because Vaishnav people do not get a holiday and because this thing is determined in the Panchangs.

Historical perspective of Janmashtami

The historical context of Shri Krishna Janmashtami has been very big and Lord Shri Krishna was born in the last period of Dwapar Yuga. And after some time of that, Kalyug started. It is said that Kalyug started about 5000 years ago. In astrology and Indian religious scriptures, Lord Shri Krishna has had a different influence on Sanatan Dharma, India and the whole world. In Indian diplomacy and in the minds of the Indian people, the teachings given by him and the special deeds done by him and the Mahabharata war that took place during his time have a great historical importance. Whatever historical places are there in the whole of India, people somewhere or the other definitely relate themselves to the Pandavas, Shri Krishna and Mahabharata or associate themselves with them. The birth of Lord Shri Krishna and Shri Krishna Janmashtami are included in the minds of the people of India with historical roots.

Celebrations in Mathura and Vrindavan

Both Mathura and Vrindavan are related to Lord Shri Krishna. The birth and deeds of the Lord took place on this holy land. Mathura and Vrindavan have been the strongholds of Vaishnav ascetics since ancient times because the Vaishnav people Sadhus and Sanyasis accept only Ashtami with Navami and consider the birth of God in Rohini Nakshatra as special, while for the Smarta (householder) people who are suffering from the evil spirit, Saptami with Ashtami is said to be special, so this year in 2025, there is a coincidence of Janmashtami on 15 August 2025 and 16 August 2025, so in both Mathura and Vrindavan, on 16 August 2025, Vaishnavs, saints, sadhus, and head priests, etc. will celebrate the holy festival of Janmashtami with great pomp and gaiety.

Importance of Rohini Nakshatra

When we talk about Shri Krishna Janmashtami, some coincidences are considered very important for Shri Krishna Janmashtami. There are four main coincidences in it. First is Bhadrapada Krishna Paksha Ashtami Tithi, second main coincidence is Rohini Nakshatra, third main coincidence is Sahayog, midnight and fourth main coincidence is Wednesday. So, if these four coincidences fall on any day, then it will be the day of true Shri Krishna Janmashtami, otherwise these four coincidences cannot happen together. Sometimes when Ashtami Tithi comes, there is no Rohini Nakshatra, when Rohini Nakshatra comes, it is not Wednesday, if it is Wednesday, then there is no midnight, if there is no Taurus moon, then due to the absence of such combinations and due to these combinations happening before or after, there is a conflict in Janmashtami and secondly Rohini Nakshatra, Vaishnav people consider Rohini Nakshatra as special, consider midnight special, and householders (Smart) people consider Ashtami Tithi as special, hence there is a difference between these two.

Regional variations and traditions

Shri Krishna Janmashtami has a great significance and historicity in the Indian region, Aryabhoomi. Everywhere people celebrate Shri Krishna Janmashtami with great pomp and show according to their own way, people observe fast, remember the name of God, stay awake till midnight, temples are decorated, temples are decorated in the house, Laddu Gopal ji is worshipped as the idol form of God, but one important thing is that according to the Sanatan Dharma scriptures, there are different The importance of different places is told in relation to Shri Krishna Janmashtami and it is also specifically told that especially in Mathura Vrindavan and Uttar Pradesh Bihar Maharashtra etc. states, people have been celebrating Shri Krishna Janmotsav on the day of Uday Kalika Ashtami Tithi, whether the Ashtami Tithi is at midnight on that day or not. Most of the people of Vaishnav sect observe the fast festival of Ashtami on the second day which is Uday Kalika Navami combined with Ashtami. On the first day, the traders abandon the midnight Ashtami by combining it with Saptami. Similarly, crores of smart people of north western states like Punjab Himachal Jammu Kashmir Haryana Delhi Rajasthan etc. have been following this tradition for thousands of years and have been observing their fast, worship, kirtan worship etc. on the midnight Janmashtami combined with Saptami.

Do you want to know why Janmashtami is celebrated for two days? Know this cosmic secret - Talk to Astrologer.