Ashtami Rohini is Kerala's name for the birthday of Krishna: the eighth night of the waning Moon, with the star Rohini, in the month of Chingam. In the afternoon children dressed as Krishna, Radha and the gopis walk through every town in the Sobha Yatra. Temples keep the birth at midnight, and at Guruvayur, where the god is himself a child, it is the fullest day of the year.
The story
The image at Guruvayur is said to have been worshipped by Krishna's own parents, and brought to Kerala by Guru, the teacher of the gods, and Vayu, the wind, after Dwaraka sank; the name of the place joins theirs.
Two poets of the sixteenth century sang here. Melpathur Narayana Bhattathiri composed the Narayaneeyam in Sanskrit before the image, and the humbler Poonthanam wrote the Jnanappana in plain Malayalam; the god is said to have preferred Poonthanam's devotion.
കൃഷ്ണ കൃഷ്ണ മുകുന്ദ ജനാർദ്ദന, കൃഷ്ണ ഗോവിന്ദ നാരായണ ഹരേ
Krishna, Krishna, Mukunda, Janardana; Krishna, Govinda, Narayana, Hari
The refrain of Poonthanam's Jnanappana
How it is kept
- Sobha YatraProcessions of costumed children with floats, in every town and village.
- UriyadiA pot of curd is hung from a rope and jerked about while blindfolded players swing at it.
- OfferingsPalpayasam, appam, butter and unniyappam.
- Midnight pujaTemples stay open for the hour of the birth.
- ReadingThe Bhagavatam, the Narayaneeyam and the Jnanappana.
Why this date
Ashtami Rohini is the Ashtami of the waning fortnight of the lunar month of Shravana, on the day it covers midnight. It falls in the solar month of Chingam.
Ashtami Rohini in other years
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Friday | |
| 2026 | Friday | |
| 2027 | Tuesday | |
| 2028 | Sunday | |
| 2029 | Friday | |
| 2030 | Tuesday |
More Kerala festivals
26 AugustThiruvonamതിരുവോണം
14 SeptemberVinayaka Chathurthiവിനായക ചതുർത്ഥി
17 AugustChingam 1ചിങ്ങം ഒന്ന്
25 AugustUthradomഉത്രാടം
19 OctoberDurgashtamiദുർഗ്ഗാഷ്ടമി
20 OctoberMahanavamiമഹാനവമി
Where to see Ashtami Rohini
In Kerala
- Guruvayur TempleKeralaThe child Krishna's own temple; tens of thousands are fed the birthday feast.
- Ambalappuzha Sri Krishna TempleKeralaFamous for its palpayasam, the milk pudding offered daily to the god.
- Aranmula Parthasarathy TempleKeralaOn the Pampa; the Ashtami Rohini Vallasadya feeds the crews of the snake boats.
Across India
- UdupiKarnatakaThe Krishna Matha up the coast, with its tiger dancers.
- MathuraUttar PradeshThe birthplace, with the midnight bathing of the infant.
- MumbaiMaharashtraDahi Handi and its human pyramids.