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Tight security at temples on 'Janmashtami'

     New Delhi: Temples here have made elaborate security arrangements on the occasion of Janmashtami on Friday. Devotees are being frisked thoroughly and a strict vigil is being maintained outside and within the temple premises. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and the Lakshminarayan Temple, popularly known as Birla Mandir have been turned into citadels for the festival. "More than 500 policemen will be there. We also have our own security guards which we have privately arranged and they will be taking care of the crowd. The crowd will be coming from the front side. We have VIP section on the back side," said Mohan Rupa Das, President, ISKCON Temple Committee. The temple authorities are also exercising caution in the wake of the spread of swine flu in the country. Lord Krishna has been the focus of a large number of devotional cults, which over the centuries have produced a wealth of religious poetry, music, painting and sculpture. Krishna is believed to have taken human form to destroy an evil king called Kansa. Lord Krishna is revered by Hindus since he orated Srimad Bhagwadgita known as the Song of Celestial Bliss. The celebrations climax at the midnight hour when the Lord is believed to have taken birth. Krishna's imprisoned parents had to smuggle out the child born at midnight to save him from Kansa. Vasudev, Krishna's father, carried his newborn child in a reed basket and left him in the care of another couple at `Gokul'-- far away from his birthplace Mathura. Thus Janmashtami or Gokulashtami is celebrated on two consecutive days, the first is the day when Krishna was actually born, and the second, when he reached Gokul.
-Aug 14, 2009