Gopashtami-2022: Krishna Started Cow Grazing Tradition With His Balsakhas

India has a long tradition of celebrating festivals. The events that happened in the past take the shape and form of festivals. Modern astrology also confirms this. The calendar of the year is also decided on this basis and programs are organized accordingly thus a series of festivals begins. In this sequence, Gopashtami will be celebrated on November 1.

Krishna started a tradition of Indian festivals through his Leelas: Five thousand years ago in Dwapar Yuga, the great hero of Dwapar, the then Yug Purush Shri Krishna started a tradition of Indian festivals through his Leelas. 

Most of these festivals are related to nature, environment and various components of nature, such as protection of mountains, protection of trees and plants and plants with medicinal properties, prevention of pollution in rivers apart from river conservation. 

Govardhan Puja, Gauvatsa Dwadashi, Gopashtami, Hal Shashthi (Balram Jayanti) are some of the Indian festivals that are still celebrated by people. There is a tradition of celebrating Ashtami tithi of Shukla Paksha of Kartik month as ‘Gopashtami’ every year. 

Krishna went to the forest to graze cattle: Dwapar Yuga Nayak Shri Krishna was eight when he insisted to his parents to go to the forest to graze cattle and organize his child friends, the gopas and the gopals, and urged them to graze cattle.

Balsakhas of Bal Krishna gathered the cows and their calves: On the Gopashtami tithi, all Balsakhas of Bal krishna of Brij Mandal gathered the cows and their calves from the rural area of Brij Mandal at an auspicious time early morning. 

All the people of Brijmandal including elders, male and female, under the leadership of Shri Krishna-Baldau (Shri Krishna’s elder brother Balram) underlined the importance of cow in a massive Gau-Sangoshti.

 ‘The glory of gobar-gau-mutra, Panchagavya was demonstrated and the contribution of gauvansh in the creation-preservation was established in public mind. After that the elders of the house applied tilak to Shri Krishna, Balram and other Gopas-gaupalaks and garlanded them. This incident of Gaucharan of Dwapar Yuga became an ‘immortal date of history’ of India. 

(Author Swami Akhileshwaranand Giri is the President of the Executive Council of Madhya Pradesh Go-Samvardhan Board.)