Krishna tradition results in death of children
People fall down as they try to form a human pyramid to break the “Dahi handi,” an earthen pot filled with curd, an integral part of celebrations to mark Janmashtami in Mumbai, India, Monday, Aug. 18, 2014. Janmashtami is the festival that marks the birth of Hindu god Krishna.
August 28, 2014
An ancient Hindu tradition has recently come under fire for the dangers it poses to the lives of young children.
Every August, Hindus across India celebrate the birthday of Krishna, a Hindu deity, by forming a massive human pyramid. However, due to the dangers involved in children participating in the event, the Supreme Court of India recently announced that no children under the age of 12 will be allowed to take part in the human pyramid.
These human pyramids have been known to stretch as much as 40-feet-high and have been known to cause multiple deaths and severe injuries in the past decade. Just last year, two young males, aged 14 and 19, died after falling off of these pyramids.
The tradition involves the last climber going to the very top of the pyramid to symbolically break the “dahi handi”, an earthen pot filled with curd, which honors how Krishna would steal butter.
The last climber is always a child because, often, only children have the ability to get all the way to the top. Now that younger children are allowed to do this, the safety risks are higher.
Mukund Rao, director of the Hare Krishna Center of New Orleans, said that this event is extremely important in the Hindu community.
“We do these human pyramids for a purpose: to honor Lord Krishna,” Rao said. “Krishna was known for stealing butter as a child and always having to make pyramids with friends. To reach the butter, the ladies of the neighborhood would attach to the ceiling so he could not steal it. This was 5,000 years ago, and we still honor this tradition to this day.”
LSU cheerleader Renee Taylor said she was shocked to hear that children were climbing on top of pyramids reaching 40-feet high.
“For football games, we do pyramids of 10 girls. Even that is pretty dangerous and has been known to result in injuries,” Taylor said.
Although the top court of India has passed the law lowering the age restriction, petitioners and rights activists are in revolt and are currently trying to reverse it.
A petition was recently filed by rights activists requesting that the human pyramid no longer exceed 20 feet.
The purpose of this petition is to ensure participants’ safety, but many Hindus have been complaining that these restrictions could hinder the amount they worship and fully devote themselves to Krishna.
