Two of the inspiring themes that run through the stories of Kṛṣṇa’s childhood are his deep love for cows – and the delicious milk, yoghurt and freshly churned butter that comes from their generosity – and Kṛṣṇa’s love for his friends.
These themes, and the stories through which they echo, are the inspiration for the various prasāda traditions for Janmāṣṭamī. They harmonize sweetly with Ayurveda’s advice on healthy eating during Varśa-Ṛtu, the rainy and/or late summer season during which this beautiful celebration of love and devotion occurs.
Let’s begin by looking at a few of these charming and inspiring anecdotes and the specific prasādas they inspire. Then we will review the qualities of this season, and look more closely at how wisely the ingredients of one of the popular prasāda have been chosen. Finally we will walk step by step through making a simple, sweet and popular prasāda called Poha Kheer in modern Indian languages.
As a small child, Kṛṣṇa quickly earned the title माखन चोर (Mākhan Cor in Hindi), butter thief. He was very fond of stealing the freshly churned butter that his mother and the neighborhood women prepared. With his mischievous, irresistibly sweet smile, he stole the hearts of these cowherd women, along with their butter.
These stories have made big balls of freshly churned butter a popular prasāda to offer Lord Kṛṣṇa on Janmāṣṭamī. (Note that these balls are later added to food for many people, and not eaten whole!)
As Kṛṣṇa grew a little bigger, he become very fond of yoghurt as well. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes how the gopīs, the cowherd women of Vṛndāvan, would go to great lengths to tie their pots of fresh yoghurt high in their rafters so little Kṛṣṇa and his friends couldn’t steal it. But Kṛṣṇa and his friends would form themselves into a human pyramid, and Kṛṣṇa would climb to the top to carefully retrieve the clay pot filled with deliciousness.
The first time I saw Janmāṣṭamī celebrations was in Mumbai on a rainy day. I looked out the window to see a rope stretched across a narrow inner city street. It was secured to the railings of two 3rd floor apartments on opposite sides of the road. In the middle a pot was tied, with flowers and money tied around its rim. In the street below the pot, a big group of boys and teenagers – the gopālas – were forming a human pyramid. They were cheered on by a crowd of friends and onlookers. It was raining constantly, so their bodies were wet and slippery, making their challenge all the more difficult.
Their pyramid must have been six tiers high when the pot was finally seized in victory, and the contents distributed as prasāda. This celebration is called Dahī Haṇḍī, after the earthen pot of yoghurt. Thousands of such pots are hung through the streets of Mumbai, Pune and other cities in the region.
So it’s easy to understand how another favorite prasāda to offer for Janmāṣṭamī is fresh yoghurt. In the desert regions of Saurashtra and Rajasthan, for example, devotees offer plain śrīkhaṇḍa, fresh curds that have been hung in a cloth till they become deliciously thick. And since the monsoon doesn’t make much of a presence in these deserts, they always seem to need some of the water-retaining quality of yoghurt to stay healthy.
Further south on the Indian subcontinent, there are devotees who like to offer prasāda of fresh yoghurt mixed with seasonal fruits, along with jaggery, puffed rice, and even cucumber pieces. This tradition recalls stories from Kṛṣṇa’s boyhood days as a cowherd. Kṛṣṇa would sit under a shady tree with all his friends gathered around to eat lunch.
Kṛṣṇa was so popular with the cowherd mothers that they would send extra food for Kṛṣṇa. But rather than eating it himself, Kṛṣṇa loved to share all his food with his friends. Soon it became their tradition to all share their food with one another so everyone could eat their fill and enjoy each others’ treats.
The devotional literature describes how celestial beings would gather to watch this scene, longing to be incarnated as Kṛṣṇa’s cowherd playmates so they too could receive prasāda from Kṛṣṇa’s lotus hands.
Recalling this scene, some devotees picture the proper prasāda for Kṛṣṇa as a mountain of all the most delicious foods imaginable. The idea actually comes from yet another of Kṛṣṇa’s childhood stories. But we will save this for Govardhana Pūjā, which comes as winter and good digestive fire approach.
In Maharashtra and much of south-western India where the monsoon rains rule this season, the traditional prasādas draw their inspiration from a story that begins in what we can think of as Kṛṣṇa’s school days.
Kṛṣṇa had to leave his idyllic life in Vṛndāvan to fulfill the next phase of his divine destiny. He destroyed the demonic king who had usurped the throne of his ancestors and imprisoned his birth parents. Leaving peace restored in Mathurā, he joined Guru Sandīpani’s gurukula to study the Vedas and sacred wisdom.
His best friend while he was studying was a boy called Sudāma. Sudāma was very pure and devotional by nature. He quickly recognized that Kṛṣṇa embodied the sacred knowledge they were being taught, even though Kṛṣṇa was so friendly and unassuming, and brushed off his awe by insisting that God lives in everyone.
Sudāma was studying the melodious Sāma Veda hymns. He had a very sweet voice. When he sat in the evenings to practice what he had learned, Kṛṣṇa would sit with him to listen.
Guru Sandīpani’s wife was very fond of these two charming and helpful friends. Sometimes she would slip these two the only treat she had: flattened rice, पृथुक (pṛthuka). Flavored only with her love, they relished it with delight.
When their gurukula days ended, they promised to remember each other, though Sudāma was to become a village priest, while Kṛṣṇa’s destiny was to become a king.
Many years later, though Sudāma’s spiritual life flourished, he and his young family lived in poverty. His wife told Sudāma he should go to his old childhood friend Kṛṣṇa. Since he was now a king, he would surely be able to help them out. Sudāma didn’t want to abuse their friendship like this. But he agreed reluctantly, for the sake of seeing Kṛṣṇa again. The only gift he could afford to take was a little bundle of flattened rice.
When he arrived at the palace gates after walking for days, the guards were suspicious of this skinny fellow in dusty rags who claimed to be Kṛṣṇa’s friend. But Kṛṣṇa spotted Sudāma from a balcony. He ran barefoot through the palace calling out to puzzled princesses and courtiers, “My old friend has come!” Reaching the palace gates, he embraced Sudāma with overwhelming affection, thanking him for his kindness in traveling to see him.
Kṛṣṇa and his queens gave Sudāma a royal welcome, bathing his blistered feet and tired limbs in fragrant water, fanning him and feeding him royal delicacies. Sudāma was overcome by Kṛṣṇa’s kindness. Afterwards, the two friends sat together reminiscing about their gurukula days together.
Sudāma kept the bundle of flattened rice carefully hidden in the waistband folds of his dhoti. How ridiculous this gift would look amidst the royal opulence and fine cuisine!
Kṛṣṇa face suddenly lit up. He said he smelled something he loved. Sudāma pretended to have no idea what Kṛṣṇa was referring to. But Kṛṣṇa knew that Sudāma would have brought him something tucked in the folds of his waistband, and jumped up to find it. Playfully he pulled out the bundle and untied it.
“My favorite! You remembered!” said Kṛṣṇa. His queens looked on aghast as Kṛṣṇa ate what looked to them like something stale and tasteless, wrapped in an old rag. But Kṛṣṇa relished the flattened rice as though it were nectar.
Sudāma stayed with Kṛṣṇa for a few days before heading back home. He never mentioned his family’s needs. Being in Kṛṣṇa’s company was all he could have wished for and more.
When he eventually arrived home, though, the hut where his family lived was gone. In its place stood a palatial home surrounded by fruit trees and flowers. People were delivering sacks of grains and fruits and gold coins. And there at the front door stood his wife and family in fine new clothes. “They said Kṛṣṇa sent them!” his wife said in amazement as Sudāma’s eyes filled with tears of gratitude and devotion.
No wonder flattened rice, known in Hindi as poha, is such a popular prasāda to offer Lord Kṛṣṇa on Janmāṣṭamī.
Teacher: Hema Patankar
Maitreya Larios is a scholar and practitioner of the ancient and living traditions of India. He has been a practitioner of Indian spirituality since he was 9 years old.
In 2013, he obtained a doctorate in classical Indology from the University of Heidelberg in Germany, where he is currently employed as a research fellow. He wrote his dissertation on the living Vedic traditions of Maharashtra, which will appear as a book in late 2015.
He is most excited about being a student of Sanskrit and philosophy and about igniting that enthusiasm in his students. His personal journey over the 26 years of studentship in this tradition has been a humbling experience, but it is a path that he assures brings the most amazing transformations.
Besides his area of expertise as a scholar of Indian culture and religion, Maitreya is passionate about photography, visual arts, traveling and vegan/vegetarian cooking.
He is happily married and a father to a beautiful boy named Kabīr.
Few artists have the power to create an indelible impact on the minds of their audiences through their art form and one such name in the world of Kathak is Shambhavi Dandekar. Shambhavi Dandekar as an accomplished Indian Kathak master performer, has carved a niche for herself through her sheer talent, unique performances and unparelled choreography, that has brought her recognition on the national as well as the international platforms.
As a young dancer, Shambhavi started her training under the able guidance of her own mother and renowned Guru Pandita Maneesha Sathe, a celebrated dancer and a teacher in her own right. Shambhavi then went on to complete her intense training in ‘laya and tala’ or rhythm and beats from Table virtuoso “Taalyogi” Pandit Suresh Talwalkar. Along with her top-notch traditional dance training, Shambhavi also has a strong academic educational background with a Bachelors in Commerce and two Masters degrees in Dance. Furthermore, she also holds Diplomas both in French and Sanskrit.
Shambhavi has more than 20 years of teaching experience at an undergraduate and a graduate level at various dance education institutions in India. She has also started her own international school of dance in 2008, called ‘Shambhavi’s International School of Kathak’ or SISK. SISK is a prominent and a thriving international institution with five branches in India and the United States of America with over 400 students and a staff of 15 teachers who are trained by Shambhavi herself.
SISK has produced many a talented student over the years. Shambhavi’s years of experience, intellectual understanding and analysis of the nuances of the art form, has helped her create stellar performers out of her dedicated students. Many of her students are emerging as budding Kathak professionals. Shambhavi guides performers and students all over the world through workshops and master classes.
Shivani is a meditation teacher and multi-disciplinary artist, and the founder of Living Sanskrit. Born both American and into the yogic tradition, she is devoted to preserving and accurately practicing ancient indigenous wisdom in modern times and non-native contexts.
Shivani first heard Sanskrit in the womb, and not a day has gone by without it. She grew up immersed in dharma culture, yogic teachings, and sacred practices under the guidance of her spiritual teacher and also her grandmother.
Living Sanskrit is the culmination of a long-held dream to keep this tradition alive and share its magnificent gifts with the world.
Shivani started teaching meditation in 2001, and professionally a few years later at the suggestion of her spiritual teacher. Since then, Shivani has shared meditation with thousands of people at venues that range from corporate offices to hospitals to schools. From 2008-2014, Shivani was a Fellow with the Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness and Law, leading retreats and weekly meditation sessions at Berkeley Law School.
Alongside teaching, Shivani is a prolific artist, photographer, and writer. She is a graduate of the Waterfront Conservatory and Playhouse, a member of the California Bar, and has a J.D. from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Rhetoric with minors in Theater, Business Administration, and South Asian Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
She lives with her beloved husband Nick in Redwood City, California, where she can often be found dancing, gardening, listening to birdsong, and hiking in nature.
Ekabhumi is an award-winning poet, author, illustrator, yoga instructor and arts educator with 18 years of international teaching experience. Through a ritualized and meditative creative method, he makes artworks for ceremonial and educational use that help people deepen their spiritual practice, recognize the divinity of common experiences, and find meaning in the beauty of our world. His artworks may be found in yoga studios, private homes, and on altars around the world. He is currently part of the core faculty of livingsanskrit.com.
His name was given by his first guru during a formal initiation ceremony into a tantric yoga lineage in 2005. Since that time, he has studied with many spiritual teachers and traditional artists both in India and the States. His art teachers include eminent western figurative painters like Domenic Cretara, as well as Newar artist Dinesh Charan Shrestha, Bikaner-style miniature painter Mahaveer Swami, Thangka painter Andy Weber, and yantra painter Mavis Gewant.
Ekabhumi’s writing and artwork has been published widely, appearing in anthologies and journals like The Poetry of Yoga, Berkeley Fiction Review, and Pearl, as well as books like Tantra Illuminated by Christopher Hareesh Wallis and Awakening Shakti by Sally Kempton. His instructional Shakti Coloring Book and the uplifting Bhakti Coloring Book are now available world-wide from Sounds True Press.
Though his first love is the arts, he has a wide range of interests that are reflected in his many past occupations: event producer, stock options broker, handyman, journalist, ski boot fitter, competitive surfer and champion sailor. He toured internationally as a performance poet, and the poets he coached won numerous regional and national titles. He facilitated writer’s groups, hosted poetry readings, and organized spoken-word festivals for nearly 20 years, culminating in the acclaimed 2009 Individual World Poetry Slam.
Ekabhumi is an inspiring, playful yet methodical teacher who helps students cultivate deeper intuitive states. For nearly two decades, he variously taught yoga, painting, public speaking, and creative writing to students ranging from kindergarten to post-graduate level. Much of his time is now spent creating educational material about interpreting, making, and utilizing sacred art of the dharma traditions. On weekends, he can be found in his garden practicing silence and learning directly from Nature.
Hema Patankar has spent her life immersed in study, practice and service to the Vedic tradition. It began when she was a teenager irresistibly attracted to the sound of Sanskrit and images of yogis who had become profoundly wise and blissful through meditation.
An alumni of a gurukula in Western India, Hema spent over 30 years intimately engaged with the traditions that have emerged from the Vedas. She worked on research, translation, and editorial projects in the company of learned pandits and scholars. She assisted with yajnas – ancient fire ceremonies – and rituals, which allowed her to get extraordinarily close to the living practice of Vedic traditions. She immersed herself in the sādhana of singing Sanskrit hymns and the songs of the poet saints, which she studied intensively with her Gurus and traditional devotional singers. She became known for devotional singing, and taught students from around the world.
Hema has a passion for the preservation of sacred Vedic heritage. For several years she was the Executive Director of the Muktabodha Indological Research Institute. There she spearheaded the development of an extensive online collection of rare Sanskrit texts. She nurtured the establishment of a traditional Vedic school where an endangered branch of the Vedas is preserved. She also directed the video documentation of remarkable Vedic rituals and brought rare texts on Śaiva philosophy and Vedic ritual to publication.
She later studied traditional Āyūrveda and earned a Vaidya Bhusana (vaidyabhūṣaṇa) Ayurvedic Practitioner degree. She is President of the Board of Trustees of Vedika Global, a school for the study and practice of traditional Āyūrveda and Vedic sciences. She has published articles on Āyūrveda, the Bhakti tradition, and the preservation of Vedic manuscripts. Most recently she edited a text on Vedic full and new moon rituals. Her current writing focuses on the intersection of living Ayurveda with the rituals and philosophy of the Vedic tradition.