Here’s decoding the mysterious aspects of this festival we all love to celebrate, especially for the sweets and savouries we get to eat.
Gokulashtami is being celebrated today. It is one festival that’s surrounded by mysteries, exciting, adventurous stories, and lots of sweets and savouries. Astrologer Shelvi tells us some important aspects of Gokulashtami, as well as the reason why we offer savouries as neivadyiam to a newborn.
Why Ashtami? Apart from the fact that Lord Vishnu was born this day, there is a very specific reason why we celebrate this particular Ashtami (usually considered an inauspicious star combo by many). According to one of the many stories surrounding Gokulashtami, since no festival falling on Ashtami was celebrated, and an alternate time frame was searched out by consulting the panchangam, Ashtami went to Mahavishnu, saying she too wanted a festival to her name, and wanted people to celebrate it. So, Mahavishnu took Krishna avatharam on Ashtami. That’s how unlike other festivals, Gokulashtami is celebrated on Ashtami across the world.
Krishna, the eighth child: Also as per numerology, the Number 8 is considered unlucky. It was to break this myth that Lord Krishna was born as the eighth child to Devaki and Vasudev.
Drawing footprints: Among the many folklores surrounding Lord Krishna’s childhood, the cutest one is how he used to steal butter and eat. To catch him in the act, the gopikas would apparently spread the rice powder around the butter pot to trace Krishna’s footprints. They would call Yashodha and show her the tiny footprints, complaining Krishna had eaten their butter. This is what transformed into the custom of drawing tiny footprints with rice paste on Gokulashtami – it is now one of the important rituals of the festival.
The many beliefs: Pray for a handsome guy: It is believed that praying to Santhanagopalan on this day will help women conceive a child as divine as Krishna. Also, girls wishing for a handsome husband pray to Gopalakrishnan.
Offer aval: Offering aval (flattened rice) to Lord Krishna on Gokulashtami will bring wealth and prosperity to the family.
Murukku
Ingredients
– 2 cups raw rice – 1/4 cup urad dal split – 1 tsp cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp asafoetida – salt to taste – 1/4 cup white butter
Method: Dry roast the rice for five minutes, then soak for half hour, drain, and spread it on a cloth to dry. Then grind to a fine powder. Roast urad dal till brown, and grind that also into a smooth powder. Sieve both together, add asafetida, salt, cumin seeds. Rub in the butter and knead, adding a little water to make a dough. Grease your fingers, take a small ball of dough, roll it between your palms into a tubular form, twist this into concentric circles. Heat oil, and put this in, to fry till both sides are brown and crisp.
Uppu Seedai recipe
Ingredients
– 1 cup rice flour – 2 tbsp urad dal flour (roast urad dal till brown and grind them to a powder) – 1/2 tbsp white sesame seeds – 2 tbsp grated coconut – 1/2 tsp asafoetida powder – 2 tbsp butter, melted at room temperature – salt to taste
Method: Sieve the flour. Mix all the ingredients. Knead into dough. Leave it for five minutes, and then, take small piece of the dough, roll them into balls the size of marbles. Heat oil, deep fry themtill they turn slightly red. Drain excess oil, and your seedais are ready.
Why offer murukku, Seedai to the lord? There is a story explaining this as well. It was believed that once the evil Kansa ground his teeth, making a ‘nara-nara’ sound when he fought with Little Krishna. In return, Krishna bit into seedai and murukku, grinding them between his tiny teeth but creating a fiercer nara-nara sound.
That is why offering these snacks to the Lord is considered very special on this day.
