THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS

 DIWALI: The Festival of Lights 

Diwali is a Hindu festival. It is known as the festival of lights. It is celebrated to mark the return of Lord Rama back to his kingdom, Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. The people of Ayodhya celebrated his return by lighting diyas, decorating their houses with lights and flowers and made this day special. From then on, this day came to be known as Deepavali.

Diwali is a five days festival- Dhanteras, Chhoti Diwali, Diwali, Govardhan Puja, Bhaiya Dooj.

STORY BEHIND EACH DAY

1. Dhanteras: 

     a) It is believed that the horoscope of a king's son predicted that he will die on the fourth day of marriage after getting bitten by a snake. On the 4th day of his marriage, his wife decided to turn the fate around. She made sure her husband didn't sleep, as she narrated stories to keep him awake. To lure the snake away, she laid out all the ornaments and coins at the entrance in a heap. It is believed when the God of Death came in disguise of a snake, he was blinded by all the dazzling jewellery and coins. This way the serpent couldn't enter the prince's chamber and also got hooked to the wife's stories and songs. It is believed that he silently left the place in the morning and bared the life of the prince.

       b) The other story is of Lord Dhanvantari, who is the physician of the Gods and an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, who came out of an ocean that is believed to be churned by the Gods and demons on the day of Dhanteras.

2. Chhoti Diwali: 

   

        a) One mythological legend suggests that the demon king, Narakasur, who was the ruler of Pragjyotishpur (province to the South of Nepal) defeated Lord Krishna and other deities. He also imprisoned 16,000 daughters of various gods and snatched the earrings of goddess Aditi, considered as a mother to all gods and goddesses. One day prior to Naraka Chaturdashi, Lord Krishna defeated the demon and freed all the imprisoned daughters. He also recovered the precious earrings of goddess Aditi. On the day of Chhoti Diwali, he returned home victorious, and thus this day is celebrated to mark his triumph over the demon.

  

       b) Another mythological legend says the gods feared that King Bali is becoming too powerful, so Lord Vishnu disguised himself as a sage and asked him to give three-foot-pace of space on his kingdom. However, the Lord claimed the world (Mrityuloka) and the heavens (Swargloka) in just two paces. And then he asked for King Bali’s head to keep his foot down for the 3rd time. This is how Lord Vishnu conquered all the three and overthrew King Bali.

3. Diwali: 

In northern India, Diwali commemorates Prince Rama's triumphant return to the city of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile due to the plotting of his evil stepmother—and after a heroic rescue of his wife Sita, an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi, who had been kidnapped by the rival king Ravana.

4. Govardhan Puja: 

Govardhan Puja is celebrated to commemorate the tale of Govardhan hill and Lord Krishna. According to the legend, when Lord Krishna was staying in Gokul, his natives were a staunch follower of Lord Indra, the God of Rains. They used to worship and supplicate him enthusiastically. However, one day, Lord Krishna questioned the villagers and advised them to worship the Govardhan hill rather than Lord Indra as the hill protected them from the rain and other calamities. Convinced by Krishna’s plea, the natives started worshipping Govardhan hill. This infuriated Lord Indra and consequently, he cursed Gokul with heavy rains. Then Lord Krishna came to the rescue of the natives. It is believed that he picked up the Govardhan hill on his little finger and protected the natives who snuggled under the shade of the hill.

5. Bhaiya Dooj: 

       

       a) As per this legend, Yamraj’s sister Yamuna tried to get her brother to visit her on many occasions but Yamraj was unable to do so for a long time. When he finally met her, he was greeted with a grand ceremony, offered sweets and had the ceremonial tika placed on his forehead. Being immensely pleased with the love and respect he was showered with, Yamraj gave Yamuna a boon and she in turn asked him to dedicate a day on which he would visit her house each year. Hence, the ritual of siblings visiting each other on this day began to honor the kinship between them.

  

       b) Another legend suggests that on this day, Lord Krishna went to visit his sister Subhadra after defeating the demon, Narakasur. Subhadra welcomed him with a garland of flowers, placed the tika on his forehead and performed an aarti, which gave rise to the festival of Bhai Dooj.

So, these are the stories behind the 5 days of Diwali. And now, we celebrate Diwali with lots of cheer. We wear new clothes, distribute sweets among our family, friends and relatives, give gifts and decorate the house with diyas and rangolis. We also worship Lord Ganesh and Goddess Laxmi.

In Jainism, it also marks the attainment of moksh of Mahavira, the 24th Jain tirthankara.

BLOGGER: AAPTI RIDHI JAIN