Krishna Janmashtami 2020
Krishna's birth at midnight — Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami prevailing at nishita.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)05:29
- Nishita puja (midnight)23:39 – 00:27
- Fasting window (tithi)09:06 → 2020-08-12 · 11:13
- Parana (tithi ends)11:132020-08-12
Festival days follow the classical attribution rules — udaya (sunrise), pradosha (evening), nishita (midnight), madhyahna or aparahna vyapini as each festival prescribes — computed for Kashi/Varanasi (IST). Regional observance can differ by a day in some years.
Read the Krishna Janmashtami puja vidhi, vrat rules and kathaKrishna Janmashtami — Frequently Asked Questions
Why is Janmashtami puja performed at midnight?
Krishna is held to have been born at midnight under Rohini nakshatra, so the puja is kept for nishita kaal rather than the morning. The fast is broken after it.
Why do Janmashtami dates sometimes differ by a day?
Smarta tradition follows the Ashtami tithi at midnight; Vaishnava tradition may additionally require Rohini nakshatra, and observes udaya-tithi rules differently. When the two do not coincide, the observances separate by a day.
What can be eaten during the Janmashtami fast?
Fruit, milk, curd, water and vrat flours such as kuttu and singhara. Grains, onion and garlic are avoided until the fast is completed the next morning.
Other major festivals in 2020
- Makar Sankranti — 15 January 2020
- Vasant Panchami — 30 January 2020
- Maha Shivaratri — 21 February 2020
- Holika Dahan — 9 March 2020
- Holi — 10 March 2020
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 25 March 2020
- Ram Navami — 2 April 2020
- Akshaya Tritiya — 26 April 2020
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 23 June 2020
- Guru Purnima — 5 July 2020
- Nag Panchami — 25 July 2020
- Raksha Bandhan — 3 August 2020
- Hartalika Teej — 21 August 2020
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 22 August 2020
- Anant Chaturdashi — 1 September 2020
- Pitru Paksha begins — 2 October 2020
- Sharad Navratri begins — 17 October 2020
- Durga Ashtami — 24 October 2020
- Maha Navami — 25 October 2020
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 25 October 2020
- Karwa Chauth — 4 November 2020
- Dhanteras — 13 November 2020
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 14 November 2020
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 14 November 2020
- Govardhan Puja — 16 November 2020
- Bhai Dooj — 16 November 2020
- Chhath Puja — 20 November 2020
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 30 November 2020
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 30 November 2020
- Hindu Festivals 2020 →