The Janmastami festival is the biggest event of the year for Krishna.com, the BBT’s website all about Krishna. Over 11,000 people from 118 countries visited Krishna.com’s special Janmastami edition between Friday, August 22nd and Monday, August 25th.

“We had to think of a different layout to appeal to the eye of the visitor,” says lead programmer Uddhava Dasa. “We had so much Krishna-related content that our typical linear homepage would have been insufficient to let our audience know about it. So our Krishna and calf logo took the center of the page, with links divided into ‘Destinations’ and ‘Activities’ surrounding it.”

These included recipes to try out and cook for the Lord; audio recordings about Krishna’s pastimes; and live streaming video from various temples around the world, including Moscow, London, Los Angeles, Alachua, Mayapur, and even Suva, Fiji.

Krishna.com’s webcasts are arguably its most popular feature. “Through them, people living in remote places where there is no temple can still see the deities,” Uddhava says. “The live webcasts allow them to stay connected to Krishna consciousness.” Seven new locations have been added this year, making a total of fifteen live webcams displaying a new image every twenty seconds.

Krishna.com’s Janmastami featured unique activities and content even for those who do live near a temple. “It’s always inspiring to be able to see what many other major temples around the world are doing on Janmastami,” says Uddhava. Co-worker Dhanistha Delaney, who maintains and created much of the content for Krishna.com’s ‘Kids’ Playground, adds, “Of course our kids’ section, with its Krishna conscious coloring pages, games and songs was also a great success.”

Many wrote their appreciation of the online festival in Krishna.com’s guestbook. One typical comment reads: “A very Happy Krishna Janmastami to everyone: may Krishna’s auspicious appearance bring everyone Krishna conciousness, bundles of laughter, health and prosperity! Thank you, Krishna.com team, for all your hard work and for giving us the opportunity to connect with senior devotees.”

Some users even took the opportunity during the live festival broadcasts to say that Krishna.com was their only connection to Krishna consciousness.

“I feel very inspired to be part of Krishna.com every day,” Dhanistha says. “We have an amazing team here, and each member brings something unique to the site. I love that I have a job that allows me to spread Krishna Consciousness all over the world.”