Deepotsava from ISKCON Bangalore

Devotees offer ghee lamps to Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Krishna-chandra during the auspicious month of Karthika. Thousands join to celebrate the spiritually enlivening month-long Deepotsava festival to the accompaniment of soul-stirring devotional music.

The Vedic monthof Damodara (or Kartika) begins on Wednesday week, and continues until November 13.  At Mahaprabhu Mandir, we look forward to chanting Damodarastakam prayersand offering lights to Lord Sri Damodara twice daily (7am & 7pm). Pleasefeel welcome join us, and to give us your association.

Srila Vyasadeva's recorded Sri Damodarastaka in his Padma Purana: it wasoriginally spoken by Satyavrata Muni in conversation with Narada Muni andSaunaka Rsi.  "In the month of Kartika one should worship Lord Damodara and daily recitethe prayer knows as Damodarastaka, which has been spoken by the sageSatyavrata and which attracts Lord Damodara." (Srila Sanatana Goswami, SriHari-bhakti-vilasa 2.16.198)

Srila Prabhupada writes: 'Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, quotingfrom the Vaisnava-tosani of Srila Sanatana Gosvami, says that the incident of  Krishna's breaking the pot of yogurt and being bound by mother Yasodatook place on the Dipavali Day, or Dipa-malika. Even today in India, this festival is generally celebrated very gorgeously in the month of Kartika by fireworks and lights, especially in Bombay.' (SB 10.9.1-2: purport.) . The enchanting song describing Damodara lila of Lord Krishna is sung to commemorate this pastime of the lord.

Once when mother Yashoda was feeding her lovely son Krishna, she noticed that the milk on the stove was overflowing.

 So she immediately put Krishna down and went to attend this.  Child Krishna, for His own pleasure, became angry due to being abandoned in that manner by His mother.  So He broke the pot of butter kept there for churning and ate the butter in a secluded place.  Mother Yashoda sought Krishna all over.  She found a big wooden grinding mortar, which was kept upside down, and she found her son sitting on it.  Krishna saw her coming to Him with a stick in her hand, and immediately He got down from the grinding mortar and began to flee in fear.

Mother Yashoda chased Him all around the garden.  Although she was tired, she somehow reached her naughty child and captured Him.  Mother Yashoda then threw away her stick.  In order to punish Him, she endeavored to bind Him up to the wooden grinding mortar.  But when she tried to bind Him, she found that the rope she was using was short by two inches.  She gathered more ropes from the house and joined them, but at the end she found the same shortage.  In attempting to bind her son, she became tired.  She was perspiring, and the garland on her head fell down.

Then Lord Krishna appreciated the hard labor of His mother, and being compassionate upon her, He agreed to be bound by the ropes.  Krishna, playing as a human child in the house of mother Yashoda, was performing His own selected pastimes.

During this festival, ISKCON Sri Radha Krishna Mandir, Bangalore is decorated with thousands of lamps and there is display of grand fireworks.  The temple altar is decorated with lamps of various shapes and sizes and a song, Damodarashtaka, is sung during the arati.  During this month the devotees take a vow to offer a ghee lamp to the Deities of Sri Sri Radha Krishna-chandra everyday.

For More Information about ISKCON Deepotsava please visit:

http://www.harekrishnablog.com/index.php/iskcon-for-you.html?start=10 and http://www.iskconbangalore.org

 

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