Krishnaa astami

There is perhaps no deity like Lord Krishna in the entire Hindu pantheon who has been so highly honoured by millions of his devotees including great rishis (seers), brave kings and simple souls. Krishna, considered as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the Hindu deity of preservation, has a large following in Nepal. His visage is depicted in blue, the traditional colour of Vishnu. His being blue is said to remind his devotees that he is all-pervading and ever-fascinating like the brilliant blue sky.Krishna is also generally regarded as a great god of love and romance. It is also said that thousands and thousands of gopinis (girl-cowhands) were enamoured by the beauty of his bright blue body and lured by the sweet melody of his murali (flute).Lord Krishna is a divine dancer, too. He performed Raasa Leela-the dance of spiritual ecstacy-amidst the gopinis. The posture of Lord Krishna, dancing amidst the gopi girls, is said to represent para brahma, the supreme reality, and the devotees surrounding the Lord are said to represent their intensive desire (through action) for union with the Supreme Being. One of the most enjoyable highlights of the celebration of the birthday of Krishna is not surprisingly the scene of devotees dancing.Devotees of Krishna, particularly women, get up early in the morning on Krishna-astami, which falls on the eighth day of dark forthnight of Bhadra (August-September), and swarm towards the Krishna temple situated at Durbar Square in Lalitpur. The central venue for all kinds of relegious singing and dancing on this auspicious day is the surroundings of the same temple, (King, Siddhi Narasimha Malla built the famed temple, known for the intricate art works on the stone, in 1636 A.D.)
On Krishna-astami the fasting women take active part in the traditional dance performances that take place around the temple. This street show lasts till late night. It is usually accompanied by male madal (drums) drummers.
Lord Krishna is a magic flute player. So he is also called Murali Manohar. It is said that whenever the gopinis hear Lord Krishna playing on his flute they become restless and rush out of their homes leaving behind all their chores incomplete. It is said that merely by playing a tune on his magic flute, he can put his devotees in a trance. Therefore he is always shown in art works with a flute an his hands. Another interesting thing about his image is that he is usually shown with his right leg slightly bent. This image is quite common in Nepal. His standing gesture is said to represent his being involved in nonstop actions to keep everything of the world in order. So the saints and seers have rightly called him a great Karma Yogi, meaning the great man of actions. Bhagavad Geeta is a divine gift from Krishna to all spiritual seekers and followers of his path.