Ahead of Janmashtami, MP Govt Announces Development of Pilgrimage Sites Linked To Lord Krishna

Indore: Ahead of Janmashtami, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Saturday announced that places associated with Lord Krishna in the state will be developed as pilgrimage sites. 

Speaking at a public felicitation of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, president of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirtha Kshetra Trust, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said, “We have decided that the places touched by Lord Krishna's feet in the state will be developed as pilgrimage sites. As per mythology, Janapav in Indore district, Sandipani Ashram and Narayana village in Ujjain and Amjhera in Dhar district were among places linked to the deity.”

Yadav also praised the "hard struggle" of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das in the Ram Mandir movement and said he dedicated his entire life to preserve the heritage of Sanatan culture.

The consecration of Ram temple was a wonderful moment and he will never forget the scene, he added.

"After 500 years of struggle, a temple could be built on Ram Janmabhoomi. Madhya Pradesh has a deeper connection with Ayodhya because it is said that Babar destroyed the 2,000-year-old Ram temple.....The demolished temple had been built by Vikramaditya, the emperor of the ancient city of Ujjain in the Malwa region of the state," Yadav said.

"Lord Ram is smiling in Ayodhya. Now we are eagerly waiting for Lord Krishna to smile in Mathura," he added, in an apparent reference to the Mathura temple-mosque dispute.

Janmashtami To Be Celebrated on August 26 

Krishna Janmashtami will be celebrated on August 26 this year across the country. Devotees traditionally fast and decorate temples and homes with flowers, diyas, and lights. The occasion is particularly grand in Mathura and Vrindavan, where it is believed that Krishna spent his youth and childhood.