▲A girl holds a peacock feather in Lalitpur, near Kathmandu. Peacock feathers are considered a sign of beauty and knowledge.

▲A man dressed as Hindu Lord Shiva looks into the mirror as he gets ready to take part in a religious procession on the eve of the Janmashtami festival in Amritsar. Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu.

▲Schoolchildren wait to perform during celebrations on the eve of the Janmashtami festival in Chandigarh.

▲A student participates in celebrations in Mumbai. Faces are painted in various shades of blue because it's believed that the eternal spiritual body of Krishna emits a blue aura.

▲School children express varying degrees of enthusiasm during celebrations in Ajmer.

▲A student dressed up as Hindu Lord Krishna and looking suitably regal in a street in Ahmedabad.

▲A young boy is held aloft in the streets of Dhaka.

▲A boy in blue poses for a picture during the Janmashtami festival in Dhaka.

▲Krishna is pictured in Hindu symbology with a crown of peacocks' feathers, playing the flute. Here, a Hindu girl is dressed as Lord Krishna during the Janmashtami festival in Dhaka.

▲A girl in Dhaka dressed as Radha poses for a picture during Janmashtami. In Hinduism, Radha is the gopi (milkmaid) who became the beloved of the god Krishna.

▲A child sits on a doorstep in the city of Dhaka as the festivities commence.

▲The pot is then broken, symbolizing baby Krishna and the joyful innocence of children.

▲Hindu priests pour milk over the idols of Hindu Lord Krishna (left) and Radha, consort of Krishna, during the festival of Janmashtami in Ahmedabad.

▲According to tradition, baby Krishna would steal yogurt, curd, and other milk products from his neighbors. To thwart his mischievous endeavors, townsfolk would hide their supplies high up out of the baby's reach.

▲Dahi Handi, a Janmashtami tradition, in progress in Mumbai. The term literally means "earthen pot of yogurt."

▲Careful makeup is part of the festival ritual.

▲Infants of walking age are all encouraged to take part in the annual festival, like this young devotee in Kolkata.

▲This young Mumbai woman is made up as Krishna and his beloved, Radha.

▲Janmashtami is an opportunity for all kids to have fun—and this youngster at school in Kathmandu is no exception.

▲These children inside a school in Agartala display the necessary flutes and peacock feathers, and are crowned by what's known as a mukut, the traditional headwear associated with Janmashtami.

▲A young devotee with a lit oil lamp on his head taking part in a religious ritual while offering prayer to the god Narayan a day before Krishna Janmashtami.

▲Janmashtami celebrations taking place inside a school in Ahmedabad. The flute symbolizes the human heart.

▲Devotees, including older children like this boy in Dhaka, take Janmashtami very seriously.

▲A child is passed a flute before she takes to the streets to celebrate in Dhaka.

▲A girl poses for a picture in front of the sculpture of Lord Krishna in Kathmandu. Devotees believe Krishna is the ideal of divine love, the God of love.

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Krishna Janmashtami is the annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna. Temples are decorated, processions take place, and dazzling dance-drama enactments of the life of Krishna accompanied by devotional singing are played out across India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Browse the gallery for a glimpse at one of the most important religious festivals in the Hindu world.

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The Krishna Janmashtami festival sees temples like this one in Delhi elaborately decorated and illuminated for the occasion.

▲During Janmashtami, devotees form a human pyramid so that someone can reach an earthenware pot containing butter or curd.

▲Janmashtami is observed on the eighth day (Ashtami) of the Krishna Paksha (dark fortnight). It is believed that Krishna is the eighth child of his mother, Devaki, so Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated on the eighth day of the lunar Hindu calendar.