Janmashtami marks the midnight birth of Sri Krishna in Mathura, told in the tenth canto of the Bhagavata Purana. Devotees fast through the day and keep vigil until midnight, when the birth is celebrated with abhisheka, kirtan and the reading of Krishna's childhood pastimes.
Source: Bhagavad Gita 4.7
yadā yadā hi dharmasya glānir bhavati bhārata
Whenever dharma declines and adharma rises, Krishna says, he manifests himself. Janmashtami celebrates that promise kept.
Honoured deity: Sri Krishna, the eighth avatara of Vishnu
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