Happy Krishna JanmaAsthami

Janmashtami celebrates the birth of one of the most famous Gods of Hindu religion, Bhagwan Krishna, on the eighth day (Ashtami) in the month of Sravana or Savana. Lord Sri Krishna was born on the 'Rohini' nakshatram (star). It is generally celebrated in the month of August-September according to the Christian Calendar. Legend has it that Sri Krishna was born on a dark, stormy and windy night to end the rule and atrocities of his maternal uncle, Kansa.

Position of Stars at the time of BirthIt was only on the eighth day of the second fortnight, in the month of Sravana when, the moon entered the house of Vrishabha in Rohini Nakshatra (star) that Lord appeared. According to Barhapatyamana, the month of Sravana corresponds to the month of Bhadrapada Krishnapaksha. Lord was born in the year of Visvavasu, appx. 5,227 years ago.

Celebrated for over Two DaysJanmashtami is celebrated for over two days as “Rohini” nakshatra and Ashtami may not fall on the same day. The first day known as Krishnashtami, as the birth of Bhagwan Krishna falls on the eighth day after Raksha Bandhan, which generally falls in the month of August. The second day is known as Kalashtami.

Welcome the Lord at MidnightIt is only at midnight between the first and the second day that birth of Sri Krishna took place. The actual festivities begin during midnight in this 48 hour period. The celebration reaches its peak at midnight, with the birth of Lord Krishna, with lot of hymns, arti taking place and blowing of the Conch (shankh), rocking the cradle of Lord. The idol of lord is bathed with Panchamrit (A mixture of milk, ghee, oil, honey and Gangajal). The Panchamrit is later distributed as Prasad to the devotees along with other sweets. While some Fast on the first day and break it at midnight for others the fasting continues for both days. The period coincides with rainy season.

Legend of Janmashtami

Janmashtami, one of the most popular festivals of Hindus celebrates the birth of their beloved God, Sri Krishna. Detailed story of Janmashtami or Lord Krishna's birth has been narrated in Puranas. Please read on to know more about the various fascinating aspects of the legend of Janmashtami as stated in Puranas.

Mathura, a prominent town of Northern India and the birth city of Sri Krishna was ruled by King Ugrasen, a Yaduvanshi ( Belonging to the Community of Yadavs). He was a great king loved by his subjects. He had two children, a son Kansa and a daughter Devki. Kansa was quite cruel by nature, his wickedness knew no bounds when he jailed his father and forcefully became the king of Mathura.

Love for sister Devki and Brother in law Vasudev

Though Kansa was hard hearted but he loved his sister immensely and married her off to Vasudev, one the high ranking officers in his army. However on the day of wedding, as a result of a heavenly prediction that Devki’s eighth child will be born to kill him, Kansa decided to kill his sister. On Vasudev's pleading, he put both of them in dungeons and let them live but with a promise that they will handover all their children to Kansa, only to be killed by him

Birth of BalramKansa succeeded in killing all the six new born babies of Devki and Vasudev, however the seventh child was saved by divine intervention as the child was transferred from Devki’s womb to that of Rohini's, Vasudev's other wife. Thus Balram, the elder brother of Krishna was born but Kansa thought that Devki had a miscarriage.

Birth of Krishna

The birth of the eighth child of Devki, Lord Krishna was followed by a chain of dramatic events. Soon after the birth of the child, as if by a sheer miracle, all the soldiers guarding the couple fell asleep and the gates of the dungeon flew open themselves. Vasudev decided to smuggle the child safely in a basket to his friend Nand in Gokul. Since it was raining heavily, River Yamuna was all swollen and Vasudev feared that both he as well as his child will drown if he tried to cross it, however, as soon as the feet of the infant touched the river, the flow of water became normal and Vasudev was able to cross it easily. Sheshnag, the five headed serpent of Lord Vishnu protected the child with its fangs. Vasudev knew that his was not an ordinary child but a divine being. After handing his child, to his dear friend, Nand, Vasudev returned back safely with a girl child and no one got to know about it.

Yogmaya’s predictionOn hearing the news of the eighth born child, Kansa rushed to kill the girl. He paid no heed to Devki’s plead of sparing the girl. He held the child by her legs and just as he was about to bang her against the wall, the girl vanished into thin air and told Kansa that his slayer had been born and was safe in Gokul. The girl child was none other than Yogmaya (divine illusion). The eighth child grew up as Yashoda and Nand’s son in Gokul and later killed his maternal uncle Kansa, freeing all the people of Mathura from his tyranny.

How Rajbanshi process for Kirshna Janmasthami puja?

Normal puja is performed within the family members.One of any family member stay without eating food for whole day(fast). After the puja finishes from temple, or Thakur ghar all the family members are taken food together.Parsad is being distributed to the puja performers.Special dishes & curry is made during this festival time. For example dahi(curd), puri, Khir and some fruits etc. In this day vegetarian food are being taken .

Out side, village memebers process this festival in very enetrtainic way. Its called Dadhikada.It means play with nariol(coconut) in the mud. The 2 groups term to each team. There is a long bamboo in the middle of the mud which is covered with oil. Each team will compete to touch the bamboo with nariol and the team who touches the bamboo in maximum is the winner. At the end winner team would like to climb top of that oily bamboo to touch nariol again which is tied up with money,vermilion poweder & some fruits.

You can view down in the video:

Dodhi Kado Khela - Rajbanshi Culture... Mud game played by all ages, the day after the Janma Ashtami puja.

Some Of the Pictures of Lord Krishna

Free Spiritual Photos Religious Pictures Quotes

Free Spiritual Photos Religious Pictures Quotes

Free Spiritual Photos Religious Pictures Quotes

May you all have a blessed Janmashtami chanting and singing the names of Lord Krishna the Lord of the universe and the Father of all living entities.
Best Regards From

Voiceofrajbnshi

Harey Krishna Harey Rama  Rama Rama Harey Harey Harey Rama Harey Krishna  Krishna Krishna Harey Harey !!

The Rajbanshi's Of Nepal

The Terai region of Nepal is a fertile lowland plain located along the border of Nepal and India . The yearly monsoon rains during the summer months provide a  climate that is ideal for the cultivation of a variety of crops such as rice, wheat, mustard, millet, maize, and vegetables. Due to its vast amount of arable land, this area has attracted people from several different language groups throughout history.

Origin and linguistic classification

The historical name for the Rajbanshi people was thought to be some of the original inhabitants of the eastern Terai (Adhikari and Ukyab 2000:51). The Koche are mentioned in the Kichak, apparently sided with the Kauravas and was then killed by Bhimsen. The place at which Kichak was reportedly killed is still a place of pilgrimage in Jhapa (Gautam 1994:177). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Koche lived within a vast kingdom that was founded by their very powerful leader, Hajo. This kingdom eventually stretched from the eastern half of the Morang district to include the western half of Assam, in India. Hajo’s grandson, Bisu, established his capital and named it Koch Behar, which can still be found in northeastern India today. It was during Bisu’s reign that the title of Brahmins of the area. This title later became the name of the people and their language (Gautum 1994:176-177). Over a period of time, the British gained control over the Koche Kingdom and, in 1774, annexed to Nepal the areas of Jhapa and Morang (Bista 2000:146). In time, the original Koche people divided into different groups based upon religion. As a result, there are now three main social divisions among the Rajbanshi. These are the Hindu Rajbanshi, the Muslim Rajbanshi, and the Koch. The Rajbanshi of Nepal are primarily of the Hindu Rajbanshi group (Gautam 1994:177). Description of the people and their way of life.The Rajbanshi are, for the most part, agriculturalists and pastoralists. Other occupations that they may be involved in include running small businesses, making and selling puffed rice and sweets, weaving, driving rickshaws, and teaching in the local schools. More recently, a number of Rajbanshi are becoming involved in a variety of technical and computer-related occupations. The Rajbanshi society is patriarchal, as are many of the people groups around them. It has been stated, “…the head of the household (the father) is the sole authority and everyone is supposed to work and act according to his (father’s) directions” (Gautam 1994:178). This is also supported by the patrilineal descent patterns of the Rajbanshi in which, once the head of the household has died, the authority and property of the family is passed down to the eldest son. The Rajbanshi generally prefer to marry within their own caste, however inter-caste marriages are allowed. In many areas, the practice of paying a bride price is still common. If a man is unable to pay this price, he may work for the bride-to-be’s parents for one to three years (Bista 2000:148). After marriage, the couple returns to the groom’s home where they will live until the appropriate time for them to establish their own household, generally still in the husband’s home village. As stated the primary religion of the Rajbanshi of Nepal is Hinduism. It has been said that, “They worship various devis and devtas, but the puja to the goddess Kali (female shakti-energy) is carried out with great fanfare and enthusiasm” (Gautam 1994:187). There are also aspects of the traditional shamanism mixed in with the Rajbanshis’ Hindu beliefs (Adhikari and Ukyab 2000:51).

The Rajbanshi spoken today is a form of the original Koch language. Occasionally the Rajbanshi people are still referred to as “Koch” by other people groups. Alternate spellings for this language are Rajbansi and Rajbangsi. The Rajbanshi language is classified as Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Eastern Zone, Bengali-Assamese 2000:582). Varieties of Rajbanshi in Nepal Despite the fact that there has been a fair amount of linguistic and sociological research conducted among the Rajbanshi of India, very little linguistic research has been done among the Rajbanshi people in Nepal. As a result of this, the initial background research regarding what is known so far concerning the different varieties of Rajbanshi spoken in Nepal was primarily conducted through informal interviews with Rajbanshi people who are working in Kathmandu. From these initial interviews, there appeared to be three varieties of Rajbanshi spoken in the Jhapa and Morang districts. The Rajbanshi people and their language are officially recognised by His Majesty’s Government of Nepal Ministry of Local Development.The Rajbanshi language is rather closely related to both Bengali and Assamese (Sanyal 1965:250). There are also reported to be two speech varieties closely related to Rajbanshi in the Jhapa and Morang areas. These are the Tajpuria and Gangai. It has been said by various Rajbanshi mother tongue speakers that the Tajpuria variety is more closely related to Rajbanshi than the Gangai variety. The large number of language groups that live in the eastern Terai has created a multilingual situation that has affected the form of Rajbanshi that is spoken in the area. In Morang district, the Rajbanshi people live among Tharu, Maithili, Dhimal, Hindi, and Nepali speakers. In Jhapa district, they live among Bengalis, Nepalis, and several language groups from the northern hills. This highly multilingual situation has led to frequent occurrences of Rajbanshi mixing with these other languages.Koch or Koche. The Koche are Mahabharata when the king of the Koche,Rajbanshi was given to him by the The Rajbanshi people of Nepal.

Overview Of Language Development & Committe.

There have been several works of literature produced in the Rajbanshi language. The Rajbanshi literature that is produced in India is written in the Bengali script, whereas the Rajbanshi literature that is produced in Nepal is written in the Devanagari script. These include booklets on the history of the Rajbanshi people, a general description of grammar (from Grierson’s work in India), a Nepali to Rajbanshi dictionary, poetry, and a description of the life and culture of the Rajbanshi. There is also a magazine that is put out by the Rajbanshi Development Committee. This magazine is written in both Rajbanshi and Nepali.

There are some committees of rajbanshi in Nepal which intention is to improve the lives of the Rajbanshi people as well as to preserve their culture and language.It is to be believe that Mr PhulSingh Rajbanshi was pioneer to establish a rajbanshi committee Rajbanshi Development Committee was established in the Year 1993.They have conducted several workshops in which Rajbanshi women have learned to read and write as well as to engage in trades such as printing and weaving. The committee is also taking steps to promote further literature development in Rajbanshi. Future goals of the committee include further social work for Rajbanshi women and children, research into the history of the Rajbanshi people, and the development of a Rajbanshi language institute.

The Rajbanshi language of Nepal

One can hear a wide variety of languages being spoken in the market towns across the Terai. One of these languages is Rajbanshi. The Rajbanshi people of Nepal can be found predominantly within the Jhapa,Morang and Sunsari districts in the southeastern corner of the country. The 1991 Census of Nepal gives the total number of Rajbanshi in the country as 85,558. In the district of Jhapa, there was reported to be a total of 66,224 Rajbanshi, whereas in Morang district, the census records the Rajbanshi population as 18,243. This leaves only 1,091 Rajbanshi spread throughout other districts of Nepal, not restricted to Jhapa and Morang’s neighbouring districts. Across the border, in India, there are a large number of Rajbanshi people as well. According to the 1991 Census of India, the Rajbanshi population was 2,839,481 in the state of West Bengal. There is also a small number of Rajbanshi who live in the country of Bangladesh (Grimes 2000:394).

Sources: Internet

Numerically & Culturally

Numerically & Culturally 

Both numerically and culturally, the Rajbanshi is the predominant ethnic group and the Rajbanshi boli or bhasa (dialect or language) is also the dominant language. More or less every ethnic and caste group can communicate with their language. The Tajpuriya and Gangais have no their own mother tongue and speak Rajbanshi language with minor differences in some words. The Rajbanshis worship thakur, brahmani and hanuman as their kul devatas (clan deities). The abodes or shrine are always located outside usually northeastern corner of the house. They do not erect any shrines or abodes for God and goddess inside their houses. Besides, they worship village ditties known as maharaj with very care and respect. All the other groups including plain castes Hindus except Mahato or Nuniya and Brahmins worship the same Good and goddess as their kul devata. This clearly indicates that the Rajbanshis are not only numerically but also culturally dominant group within society.

The Rajbansis are a jati of mixed origin some being descended from Koches, while other are of Dravidian (Chaudhury, 1962:141) Whatever may be their origin, they used to have a separate kingdom called Koch country, which according to Hodgson, ‘included the western half of Assam (India) on the one side and eastern half of Morang (Nepal) on the other with all intervening country’ (1880:107). The British in India conquered this Koch State, while in Nepal, King Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1774 (Bista, 1987:134) annexed them. Under the Hindu influence, the Koch sanskritised and took the name Rajbanshi, and they are today a no-alcohol-drinking jati(a relatively high caste group in the sense of jat) mostly inhabiting in Jhapa and Morang districts within Nepal (Bhattarai, 1996:55). They are primarily cultivators and some also deal in grain and other articles. As a group they are very true to their words, simple and straightforward..

Their claim of both the jat and jati at a time indicates the ambiguity of their cultural and social identity. As a jat they claim to be an offshoot of the Rajput clan but they do not wear the sacred thread, nor do they observe menstruation as ritual pollution. In addition, they bury their dead; practice of widow marriage was prevalent among them (they renounced the practice few decades ago); the fathers or the brothers of prospective brides take high price from would-be bridegroom before they consent to the marriage (which they have started to renounce these days). As a result their claim to kindred with Rajput is, however, untenable. As an evident, the Rajputs of plains and Chhetris of the hill both do not accept them as their equivalent. In the context of conceptualization, the distribution of cultural sub-traditions within a population as different streams, the Rajbanshis thus participate in many such streams, which are also shared by the members of other groups. There are, however, some typical social and cultural features or traditions, which both Rajbanshis and others recognize exclusively as Rajbanshis. For instance, they speak their own language, have strong sense of hospitality towards their guest, their practices of head shaving on 12th days of death, abandonment of sacred thread and bhai pooja (worshipping of brothers) during tihar(festivals of light) and their typical dresses and settlement patterns....

हमार नीति

 समय आर परिस्थिति

कराचे अनुभूति

भाँगाल ठालीदाअ कुश्याचे

पुर्निमार बाद आमास्य

तब फेर

किया नि हबे पूर्ण

हमार तपस्या !!

इडा बिकट परिस्थिति

आर हामार डरपोक नीति

कि हामा बढुवा पार्म आगुती ?

आ स सभाये सचि दि !

हामा चम्किए उठे चि

आन्धार राति डात

देखिए एकटा खामा

केनंग करे फेर हामा आगुती बढुवा पार्म

बिकासेर रास्ता डात हामा !

छाडी दि इला डरुक नीति

साहस करे बढी आगुती

हामा बनिजायी जन्हाकी

आन्धार राति डात जन्हाक लिए

बेरायी हिती आर हुती

तने हबे हामार प्रगती

आ स

सवाये जाई आगुती !!

Paan In Rajbanshi Life...

The betel leaf is popularly known as Paan.Paan is a vital part of the culture in the Rajanshi life.Paan is being used occasionally in the rajbanshi culture's schedule.Money is placed on it while payments are made to the priests.It is offered to the guests and used in the festivals irrespective of religion.It has a symbolic value at ceremonies and cultural events in Rajbanshi society.Paan is also used in all kind of rajbanshi puja and wedding festivals and to visit relatives.It has become a ritual, tradition of rajbanshi society.In some of the rajbanshi's wedding the birde enters the mariage podium covering her face with two palm of paan leaves.She will remove them at the auspicious time of exchange of first glance with the groom.All through the ceremony she will keep two whole betel nuts tucked in her cheeks.Generally this is followed from the bengali wedding.A tray full of well-decorated paan is an essential part of the wedding trousseau.During the time of sindur daan along with paan, the vermillion puts by the grrom on the head of the bride.