Krishna Janmashtami 2025
Krishna's birth at midnight — Bhadrapada Krishna Ashtami prevailing at nishita.
Muhurat & timings
Kashi/IST · astronomically computed- Sankalp (sunrise)05:31
- Nishita puja (midnight)23:38 – 00:26
- Fasting window (tithi)23:49 → 2025-08-16 · 21:35
- Parana (tithi ends)21:352025-08-16
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 2025
- Makar Sankranti — 14 January 2025
- Vasant Panchami — 3 February 2025
- Maha Shivaratri — 26 February 2025
- Holika Dahan — 13 March 2025
- Holi — 15 March 2025
- Chaitra Navratri begins — 30 March 2025
- Ram Navami — 6 April 2025
- Akshaya Tritiya — 30 April 2025
- Jagannath Rath Yatra — 27 June 2025
- Guru Purnima — 10 July 2025
- Nag Panchami — 29 July 2025
- Raksha Bandhan — 9 August 2025
- Hartalika Teej — 26 August 2025
- Ganesh Chaturthi — 27 August 2025
- Anant Chaturdashi — 6 September 2025
- Pitru Paksha begins — 8 September 2025
- Sharad Navratri begins — 22 September 2025
- Durga Ashtami — 30 September 2025
- Maha Navami — 1 October 2025
- Dussehra / Vijayadashami — 2 October 2025
- Karwa Chauth — 10 October 2025
- Dhanteras — 18 October 2025
- Naraka Chaturdashi (Choti Diwali) — 20 October 2025
- Diwali (Lakshmi Puja) — 20 October 2025
- Govardhan Puja — 22 October 2025
- Bhai Dooj — 23 October 2025
- Chhath Puja — 28 October 2025
- Kartik Purnima (Dev Deepawali) — 5 November 2025
- Guru Nanak Jayanti — 5 November 2025
- Hindu Festivals 2025 →