Diwali - Festival Of
Lights
Diwali, Deepavali is popularly
known as the Festival Of Lights, Fireworks, Sweets, Gifts. It is an
important five-day festival in Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism,
occurring between mid-October and mid-November. Diwali is an
official holiday in India, Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago,
Mauritius, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Myanmar , Fiji
and Surinam.
For five consecutive days every year,
starting from a day when the moon decides to hide giving way to
complete darkness, every Indian regardless of his/her caste, creed
or religion celebrates a festival called ‘Diwali’ – a festival that
glorifies the triumph of light over all that is darkness and of the
good over all that is evil, and one which rekindles the flame of
love and hope in one and all. This festival is also a manifestation
to the fact that every ounce of darkness can be outweighed by
something as weightless yet strong – willed as a ‘Diya’
(traditional Indian earthen lamps); one simply needs to muster the
courage to stand and walk again.
Diwali, the festival of lights, gets
its name from ‘Deepawali’ – a row of lights, where ‘Deep’ stands
for ‘light’ and ‘Awali’ stands for ‘a row’. Indian households
across the globe, on these five days, dwell in the dazzling
luminosity of these earthen lamps, ‘Diya’. However, it’s not just
Diyas that contribute in illuminating the nation during these
Diwali
days, but also fire crackers, which light up the sky
unceasingly with a million sparkles. Their blaring sounds serving
as messengers carrying joyous notes of gratitude from the rejoicing
masses to the heavens for their generosity.
Diwali
History & Legends
There are several theories pointing to
the origin of this festival with one stating that the festival is
celebrated to mark the beginning of the post – monsoon harvesting
season. However, the festival is most often than not associated
with Rama’s return from his fourteen year long exile and the great
demon king Ravana’s execution at the hands of the
former.
Rama’s return to
Ayodhya
According to Hindu mythology, Kaikeyi,
King Dashratha’s youngest wife and Bharat’s mother, stricken with
jealousy tactfully forced her husband to exile her eldest son,
Rama, whose blood mother was Kaushalya, for fourteen years on the
eve of his son, Rama’s coronation ceremony. Rama, the embodiment of
righteousness, an ideal son, husband and brother, acceded to his
father’s helplessness and left Ayodhya with his wife, Sita, and
younger brother, Lakshman. The trio donned a monk’s attire and
journeyed southward on the banks of the river Godavari, where they
built cottages and lived.
During their stay in the forests, Rama
and his brother, Lakshman, humbled a few menacing demons, who, in
their bid to avenge Ravana’s sister’s humiliation at the hands of
Lakshman, tried to kill them. The deaths of these demons
consequently sparked an outrage against the brothers in the demon
world to which Ravana, the mighty demon King, responded by
abducting Sita with guile while she was alone in her
cottage.
Rama and his brother, Lakshman, after
hearing the news plan an attack on the demon king by joining hands
with a monkey King. Rama and his army of monkeys lay siege on
Lanka, Ravana’s kingdom, and annihilate the powerful demon army and
then go on to vanquish the mighty demon king,
Ravana.
Meanwhile, the trio completes their
fourteen year exile and prepares to return to Ayodhya. On hearing
the news, Bharat, Kaikeyi’s son and Rama’s younger brother, who as
a respectful gesture to his elder brother, Rama, refuses to sit on
the throne and instead places Rama’s footwear on it after the
latter left for his exile, jumps in exultation and prepares the
kingdom for a grand welcome. The people of Ayodhya too are elated
on hearing the news and clean their houses and decorate them with
flowers, garlands, candles and earthen lamps (Diya). On the day of
Rama’s return, every corner of every street was cleaned, watered
and painted with colorful designs called ‘Rangolis’. The entire
kingdom erupted with joy on having their dear King, Rama,
back.
Narakasura’s
execution
Narakasura, an invincible demon who
ruled Pradyoshapuram, was obliterated by Krishna’s wife,
Satyabhama, in order to rescue the people of Pradyoshapuram from
the demon’s atrocities. The myth says Narakasura underwent a severe
penance in an effort to seek blessings from Lord Brahma, who
eventually acknowledged his devotee’s sincerity by granting him a
powerful boon that he would only succumb to death at the hands of
his mother, the earth goddess, Bhudevi. Krishna’s wife, Satyabhama,
was a reincarnation of Bhudevi.
Krishna knew of this and cleverly
sought help from his wife, Satyabhama, in a battle that was to
ensue between him and the demon, Narakasura. Satyabhama accompanied
Krishna to the battleground as his charioteer. However, after
Krishna fell unconscious on being hit by Narakasura’s arrow,
Satyabhama took charge and effortlessly killed Narakasura with an
arrow. After the battle, Krishna reminds her of her reincarnation
and the boon she had sought as Bhudevi.
This mythical story is not just a
story about the unfathomable physical and mental prowess of gods
and goddesses, but also one that conveys a simple yet powerful
message, which says that every parent is under a moral obligation
to punish his/her children should they tread a wrong path. And that
the good of the society and not personal bonds should be placed on
a higher pedestal. The myth also says that Bhudevi, Narakasura’s
mother, announced that her son’s death should not be mourned, but
celebrated.
Incarnation of Goddess
Lakshmi
Lakshmi, the embodiment of sublime
beauty, opulence and divine grace, is a Hindu goddess who rules
health, wealth, spiritual, material and intellectual prosperity,
and fertility. She came into being as a result of a conquest
undertaken by the gods and demons for achieving
immortality.
Both the smaller gods and demons
initially were mortal. In order to be immortal, they decided to
consult Vishnu, who helped them churn the ocean of milk,
Kshirsagar, for Amrit (the nectar of immorality). In this process,
a number of divine celestial objects including Lakshmi surfaced.
Amrit, however, was the last one to come up. But the gods could
only consume the nectar of immortality if the demons were in some
way distracted. Vishnu then took form of a beautiful maiden and
distracted the demons helping the gods achieve
immortality.
Ever since, Goddess Lakshmi has
dwelled in the heavens and accompanies Lord Vishnu each time he
descends on earth as a manifestation of himself in human or
superhuman or animal form.
Diwali as a Harvest
Festival
Among the many Diwali legends, most of
which are strong manifestations of unflinching Hindus beliefs,
there is one legend that deviates from religion and moves into the
realm of provable historical facts. This theory, which points to
the festival’s origin, stems from India’s cultural, social and
economic history. It states that Diwali is celebrated to mark the
onset of the post–monsoon harvesting season. Speaking of which, the
defining role of India’s agrarian society in carving her economic
structure gets starkly highlighted.
Owing to the heavy influence of
agriculture on the Indian society, quite a few festivals celebrated
in India find their roots in the land of farmers. However, there is
an identifiable difference in the way different Indian societies
celebrate these festivals. In rural India, the harvesting festivals
are celebrated by observing traditional rituals that reciprocate
God’s generosity in providing the farmers with a bountiful cropping
season. Whereas, the urban masses celebrate these festivals by
observing rituals that pay an obeisance to God for His generosity
in showering wealth and prosperity on them. These festivals may not
be celebrated in the same manner, but the fact that some typical
traditions and customs associated with these harvesting festivals
found their way to the modernized urban society goes to prove each
Indian’s unyielding commitment to his cultural
values.
Five Days of Diwali
Dhanteras
Dhanteras is
the Thirteenth lunar day of the Krishna Paksh, the dark forthnight
of Kartik month according to the Hindu calender. The day is also
called Dhanvantari Triodasi or Dhan Theras. With the day of
Dhanteras the Diwali celebrations begin. Word “Dhan” means wealth
and “Teras” means the Thirteenth lunar day. Dhan, wealth is
worshiped of this special day. Goddess Lakshmi is the Goddess of
wealth, light, beauty and prosperity; therefore, Indians worship
her and seek her blessings for a prosperous new beginning.
Footprints are drawn with rice flour and vermilion powder at the
entrance of the house, to mark the awaited arrival of Goddess
Lakshmi. Lamps are kept burning all through the night. As a form of
good omen, people buy an ornament or a piece of precious metal on
Dhanteras to bring a financial good Luck. Lord Dhanwantari emerged
out of the ocean with Ayurvedic for mankind on this
day.
There is a legend accosiated
with Dhanteras. A Sixteen year old son of king Hima was destined to
die on the fourth night of his marriage. So to save him from
untimely death, his wife heaped up lot of gold and silver ornaments
and coin on her husband’s room entrance. Lighted so many diyas in
the room and kept telling stories and singing songs all night. She
kept her husband awake the entire night. Lord Yama came and set on
the heap of gold, listening to the songs and left in the morning.
This is how the king’s son was saved from death, by him wife. On
this day, before sunset, people bathe and offer lighted diyas to
Lord Yama, the Lord of death to protect themselves from untimely
death.
Chhoti
Diwali
Chhoti Diwali is the second day
of Diwali. Lord Krishna defeated the devil Narakasur on this day
thus giving a sigh of relief to the people. With this belief this
day carries a lot of importance for Indians.
The demon king Narakasur after
defeating Lord Indra, had snatched away the precious earrings of
Aditi, the Mother Goddess (the ruler of Suraloka and a relative of
Satyabhama, Lord Krishna\'s wife) and imprisoned sixteen thousand
daughters of the gods and saints in his harem. Enraged with the
hostile behavior of Narakasur, Satyabhama appeals Krishna to allow
her to destroy Narakasur. On the other side, it was said that
Narakasur was destined to be killed by a woman. Krishna granted
Satyabhama a boon to fight against Narakasur. Satyabhama entered
the battle field with Krishna as her charioteer and destroy
Narakasur. Soon after that the imprisoned women were released, and
Krishna accepted to marry them. As a symbol of that victory Lord
Krishna smudged his forehead with the demon king\'s blood. Krishna
returned home in the very early morning of the Narakachaturdashi
day. Krishna got a scented oil message on his body by the womenfolk
and took a bath to remove the filth of demon’s blood from his body.
Since then to message the body with scented oil to get rid of
tiredness and take bath early in morning has become a traditional
practice on this day. Bhudevi, the mother of Narakasur declared
that this day should not be for mourning but to rejoice the victory
of good over evil. So the festival of Diwali is celebrated with
lots of happiness and hopes.
Diwali
Day
The Diwali day is the fifteenth
lunar day of the dark forthnight of Hindu month Kartik. It is the
heart and soul of the entire Diwali festival. It falls on the
darkest day, the Amavasya. To wade away the darkness and welcome
the new year on a bright path; innumerous diyas, lights and candles
are lit.
On this day women wake up early
in the morning and make Rangoli on the threshold of the house. Also
make small footprints of rice, vermillion and turmeric near the
entrance of the house; depicting it to be Goddess Lakshmi’s
footprints. People decorate the house beautifully and light lots of
diyas in the evening. The families wait for Goddess Lakshmi to
visit their house and bless them with wealth and prosperity. It is
believed that on Diwali day Goddess Lakshmi descends on earth from
heaven in her celestial being and visits all the homes and blesses
them. She visits the cleanest, decorative and well lit house first.
In the evening Lakshmi Puja is performed along with Ganesh Puja to
please and seek blessings of the God and Goddess. Later in the
evening kids and youngsters burst firecrackers to fill the sky with
adorable colors and light.
Padwa /
Gowardhan Puja
The fourth day of the Diwali is
commonly known as the Hindu New Year. It is said that as the
Indians lit the diyas on the Amavasya night, the diyas illuminate
the darkness and welcome a bright new year. This day has many
legends associated with it. At large, this day is associated with
Gowardhan Puja.
Gokul, a small town in Uttar
Pradesh is where Lord Krishna lived. The people there used to
celebrate a festival to worship Lord Indra at the end of the
monsoon season to express their gratitude for good rain. On a
particular year, Lord Krishna stopped them from worshiping Lord
Indra, instead he asked them to worship their fields and cattle as
there are the ones who earns them their bread. There was a heavy
down pour that year. People were scared thinking that this down
pour is the result of Lord Indra’s Anger for not worshiping him. So
to save the people of Gokul Lord Krishna lifted Govardhan Parvat on
his little fingure and thus gave shelter to the Gokul residents.
Since then this Day is celebrated in honour of Lord Krishna, The
Gowardhandhari. A small hillock is made, depicting Gowardhan parvat
and decorate it with flowers and light. The devotees worship the
Gowardhan parvat and the Gowardhandhari.
On this day as part of the
Gowerdhan Parvat legend, people also offer “Annakoot” to Lord
Krishna. The devotees cook 56 or 108 food delicacies. Make a mount
of it for offering it to the Lord. They pray to save them from all
the pains and trouble as Lord Krishna saved the “Gokul Vasi” from
the heavy down pour.
Gudi Padwa is celebrated on this
fourth day of Diwali. It’s a Marathi festival. Gudi Padwa
celebrates love and devotion between husband and wife. The wife
applies a tilak on forehead of her husband and prays for his long
life. As a part of the Ritual, outside the door or the widow of the
house, a decorated Gudhi is kept. It is a symbol of victory and
happiness. The newly wed daughter along with her husband is invited
for a meal at her parents place on Gudi Padwa.
The Hindu New Year is also
celebrated as “Kartik Shuddh Padwa” or “Bali Padyami” by the south
Indians. It is believed that King Bali come to visit the people on
earth from Patalaloka (netherworld) as per boon given by Lord
Vishnu, on this day.
From this Day the Vikram Samvat
begins. It is said that this day marks the Coronation of King
Vikramaditya.
Bhai
Dooj
The fifth day of Diwali got its
name as it falls on the second day of full moon forthnight, “Dooj”.
This day is very auspicious for every brother as on this day the
sister applies a tilak on her brother’s forehead, performs an
aarti, shares a meal with him and prays to save him from all the
evils and seek blessings from God for his long life. This day is
also addressed as “Bhai Phota” or “Bhai Biij”.
Yamraj went to meet his twin
sister Yami (Yamuna) on Bhai Dooj. They were meeting each other
after a long separation. Yami warmly welcomed Yamraj, applied the
tilak on his forehead and performed his aarti to pray for his long
life. She cooked delicious meal and shared it with Yamraj. Yamraj
was so much pleased by his sister’s affection that he declared that
if a brother receives a tilak, aarti and a meal from his sister on
this sacred day, he would he saved from hurdles and
hell.
A legend about Bhai Phota is
Lord Krishna after slaying the demon Narakasur, went to meet his
sister Subhadra. The affectionate Subhadra greeted victorious
Krishna by garlanding him and applying sacred tilak on his
forehead.
Another popular legend of Bhai
Bij says after the nirvana of Lord Mahavir
,
his brother Raja Nandivardhan became
extremely sad and depressed. With the assistance and affection of
his sister Sudarshana, he was brought back to normal.
Diwali Gift Ideas
Diwali Gift
Ideas
are selected keeping in mind the age,
choice and your relation to that person. The current trends also
play a very crucial role in selecting the gift. Apart of the gift
article, a nice and creative gift wrapping is anyhow appreciated by
the receiver. Therefore, an appropriate product and an attractively
decorated wrapping is perfect
Diwali Gift
Idea
.
-
Diwali Gift
Hampers
: An assorted Gift Hamper is a
perfect
Diwali
Gift Idea
. The Gift Hamper including
sweets, chocolates, gift
articles
or
idols of
god
and
goddess
.
-
Sweets:
Sweets is the
best way to bring a smile on one’s face on such auspicious
festival. Chose your favorite Diwali
Sweets from
moti chor ke ladoo, besan ke ladoo,
gulab jamun, jalebi, malpuva, laapsi, kaju katli, kaju-pista roll,
burfi,
etc as per taste.
-
Apparels and
Accessories:
Apparels
and
Accessories
is one
Diwali
Gift Idea
always in
vogue. Gift the appropriate ones for a festive look, on
Diwali
day.
-
Door &
Wall Hangings:
Decorations are implied
on
Diwali
. Gift the
beautifully embellished
Door hangings
and
Wall
hanging
to add to the beauty of your dear
one’s home.
-
Diyas:
Diyas is
common yet nice
Diwali Gift
Idea
, as
Diwali
itself means
a row of diyas. And again every individual lights diyas around
his/her home to remove the darkness and illuminate the
sacred
Diwali
night. Gift
the most creative and colorful diyas to add to someone’s good
luck.
-
Devotional
Gifts:
Gift an idol of god or goddess or even
a puja thali if the receiver likes something devotional and
religious. May the god and goddess bless him with immense peace and
prosperity.
-
Gold &
Silver Gifts:
Gold and Silver are the most
traditional gifts on
Diwali
. Gift
something that stays forever as a token of your remembrance. In
gold and silver you can have gifts like
jewelry,
idols,
and
crockery
and
Lakshmi-Ganesha
coins
.
Diwali Photos and
Wallpapers
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