[Y-Indology] dIpAvaLi festival

[Guest guest]

It is useful to look for evidence at the other end of the subcontinent, in

the conservative areas of Kashmir & Nepal:

 

The festival is mentioned, for example, in the Nilamata (-purana) of

Kashmir which is dated before 700 CE: "prior to the sixth or seventh

century", L. Rocher, The Puranas, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1986 p. 205

 

It occurs under the name diipamaalaa at NM 400-407 (ed. de Vreese), or

Vulgate 412-420:

mentioning rows of lights as well.

 

Worship of LakSmii: " lamps are used in form of a tree" (NM 415a, 437b) ...

"people should hang these lamps outside the houses every night for one

month..." ... and on trees.... p.162

in: Shingo Einoo, Analysis of the Ritual Structure in the Niilamata", in:

Y. Ikari, (ed.) A study of the Niilamata - Aspects of Hinduism in Ancient

Kashmir -. Kyoto: Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University

1994, 137-197

 

Note that lamps on a tree-like structures are still used by the Newars in

Nepal at that time;

and, that in my own house in Nepal in the mid-Seventies, "we" used to put

up rows of lights, as to lead Laksmi to our house. (No luck yet!)

 

cf., for a detailed description of the Newar Dipaavalii : R. Levy,

Mesocosm, Berkeley: U. of Cal. Press 1990, pp. 413-416, 643/657.

 

MW.

---------------

 

>P. Chandrasekaran writes:

 

>Are there earlier texts than Bhagavatha Purana refering to dIpAvaLi

>(festival)? Classical Tamil texts, (naRRiNai 202, akanan2URu 141, 185

>et al.,) frequently refer to rows of lights arranged by townsfolk

>during the aRumIn2 (six star Pleiades or Karttika asterism) full moon.

>Has any study been done relating these two festivals?

========================================================

Michael Witzel

Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies, Harvard University

2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, USA

 

ph. 1- 617-496 2990 (also messages)

home page: http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm

[Guest guest]

Ashok Aklujkar

Ashok Aklujkar

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As I recall, there is an article by P.K. Gode establishing that Diipaavali

is a fairly ancient festival. I do not have time to provide a precise

reference, but it should not be difficult to locate the article in the

volumes containing Gode's collected articles.

 

ashok aklujkar