THE STORY OF DIWALI

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This Diwali which leads us into Truth and Light is celebrated on a nation-wide

scale on Naraka chathurthasi day just on the dawn of Ammavaasa during the Hindu

month of Aippasi Month in Tamil Language(Aaso/Aasvayuja/Asvina Months in Hindi

langauge)(September/October) every year. It symbolises that age-old culture of

our country which teaches us to vanquish ignorance that subdues humanity and to

drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge. Diwali, the festival of

lights even to-day in this modern world projects the rich and glorious past of

our country and teaches us to uphold the true values of life. The word "Diwali"

is the corruption of the Sanskrit word "Deepavali" -- Deepa meaning light and

Avali, meaning a row. It means a row of lights and indeed illumination forms

its main attraction. Every home - lowly or mightly - the hut of the poor or the

mansion of the rich - is alit with the orange

glow of twinkling diyas-small earthen lamps - to welcome Lakshmi, Goddess of

wealth and prosperity. Multi-coloured Rangoli (the design of the background of

this page is of rangoli, also people drawn with rice flour on the grounds into

their house, rangoli)designs, floral decorations and fireworks lend

picturesness and grandeur to this festival which heralds joy, mirth and

happiness in the ensuring year.This festival is celebrated on a grand scale in

almost all the regions of India and is looked upon mainly as the beginning of

New Year. As such the blessings of Lakshmi, the celestial consort of Lord

Vishnu are invoked with prayers. Even countries like Kenya, Thailand, Trinidad,

Siam and Malaya celebrate this festival but in their own ways.This Diwali

festival, it is surmised dates back to that period when perhaps history was not

written, and in its progress through centuries it lighted path of thousands to

attain the ultimate good and complete ecstasy.Diwali

or more aptly Deepavali is very enthusiastically celebrated for five continuous

days and each day has its significance with a number of myths, legends and

beliefs.The First day is called DHANTERAS or DHANTRAYODASHI which falls on the

thirteenth day of the month of Kartik . The word "Dhan" means wealth. As such

this day of the five-day Diwali festival has a great importance for the rich

mercantile community of Western India. Houses and Business premises are

renovated and decorated. Entrances are made colourful with lovely traditional

motifs of Rangoli designs to welcome the Goddess of wealth and prosperity. To

indicate her long-awaited arrival, small footprints are drawn with rice flour

and vermilion powder all over the houses. Lamps are kept burning all through

the nights. Believing this day to be auspicious women purchase some gold or

silver or at least one or two new utensils. "Lakshmi-Puja" is performed in the

evenings when tiny diyas of

clay are lighted to drive away the shadows of evil spirits. "Bhajans"-devotional

songs- in praise of Goddess Laxmi are sung and "Naivedya" of traditional sweets

is offered to the Goddess. There is a peculiar custom in Maharashtra to lightly

pound dry coriander seeds with jaggery and offer as Naivedya.In villages cattles

are adorned and worshipped by farmers as they form the main source of their

income. In south cows are offered special veneration as they are supposed to be

the incarnation of Goddess Lakshmi and therefore they are adorned and worshipped

on this day.A very interesting story about this day is of the sixteen year old

son of King Hima. As per his horoscope he was doomed to die by a snake-bite on

the fourth day of his marriage. On that particular fourth day of his marriage

his young wife did not allow him to sleep. She laid all the ornaments and lots

of gold and silver coins in a big heap at the entrance of her husband's boudoir

and lighted innumerable

lamps all over the place. And she went on telling stories and singing songs.

When Yam, the god of Death arrived there in the guise of a Serpent his eyes got

blinded by that dazzle of those brilliant lights and he could not enter the

Prince's chamber. So he climbed on top of the heap of the ornaments and coins

and sat there whole night listening to the melodious songs. In the morning he

quietly went away.Thus the young wife saved her husband from the clutches of

death. Since then this day of Dhanteras came to be known as the day of

"YAMADEEPDAAN" and lamps are kept burning throughout the night in reverential

adoration to Yam, the god of Death.

 

Another ancient story of how Diwali evolved into such a widely celebrated

festival is different in various regions and states of India. In the north,

particularly in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and the surrounding

areas, Diwali is the day when King Rama's coronation was celebrated in Ayodhya

after his epic war with Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. By order of the royal

families of Ayodhya and Mithila, the kingdom of which Sita was princess, the

cities and far-flung boundaries of these kingdoms were lit up with rows of

lamps, glittering on dark nights to welcome home the divine king Rama and his

queen Sita after 14 years of exile, ending with an across-the-seas war in which

the whole of the kingdom of Lanka was destroyed.

The SECOND day is called NARKA-CHATURDASHI or CHOTI DIWAL which falls on the

fourteenth day of the month of Kartik. The story goes that the demon king

Narakasur ruler of Pragjyotishpur ( a province to the South of Nepal) after

defeating Lord Indra had snatched away the magnificent earrings of Aditi, the

Mother Goddess and imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of the gods and saints

in his harem. On the day previous to Narakachaturdashi, Lord Krishna killed the

demon and liberated the imprisoned damsels and also recovered those precious

earrings of Aditi. As a symbol of that victory Lord Krishna smeared his

forehead with the demon king's blood. Krishna returned home in the very early

morning of the Narakachaturdashi day. The womenfolk massaged scented oil to his

body and gave him a good bath to wash away the filth from his body. Since then

the custom of taking bath before sunrise on this day has become a traditional

practice specially in Maharashtra.In South India

that victory of the divine over the mundane is celebrated in a very peculiar

way. People wake up before sunrise prepare blood by mixing Kumkum in oil and

after breaking a bitter fruit that represents the head of the demon King that

was smashed by Krishna, apply that mixture on their foreheads. Then they have

an oil bath using sandalwood paste.In Maharashtra also, traditional early baths

with oil and "Uptan" (paste) of gram flour and fragrant powders are a `must'.

All through the ritual of baths, deafening sounds of crackers and fireworks are

there in order that the children enjoy bathing. Afterwards steamed vermiceli

with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served.Another legend is about

King Bali of the nether world mighty power had become a threat to the gods. In

order to curb his powers Lord Vishnu in the guise of a Batu Waman- a small boy-

visited him and begged him to give him only that much land which he could cover

with his three steps. Known for his

philanthropy King Bali proudly granted him his wish. That very moment that small

boy transformed himself into the all-powerful Lord Vishnu. With his first step

Lord Vishnu covered the entire heaven and with the second step the earth and

asked Bali where to keep his third step. Bali offered his head. Putting his

foot on his head Vishnu pushed him down to the underworld. At the same time for

his generosity Lord Vishnu gave him the lamp of knowledge and allowed him to

return to earth once a year to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness

and ignorance and spread the radiance of love and wisdom.This Narakachaturdashi

day therefore is dedicated to lights and prayers heralding a future full of joy

and laughter.The THIRD day of the festival of Diwali is the most important day

of LAKSHMI-PUJA which is entirely devoted to the propitiation of Goddess

Lakshmi. This day is also known by the name of "CHOPADA-PUJA". On this very day

sun enters his second course and passes

Libra which is represented by the balance or scale. Hence, this design of Libra

is believed to have suggested the balancing of account books and their closing.

Despite the fact that this day falls on an amavasya day it is regarded as the

most auspicious.On this day of the Hindi month of Kartik the Goddess of wealth

and prosperity, Lakshmi was incarnated. She appeared during the churning of the

ocean, which is known as 'Samudra Manthan', by the demons on one side and

'Devataas' on the other side. Therefore the worship of Goddess Lakshmi, the

Lakshmi Pujan, on the day of Divali became a tradition. Hence ,The day of

Lakshmi-Puja falls on the dark night of Amavasya. The strains of joyous sounds

of bells and drums float from the temples as man is invoking Goddess Lakshmi in

a wondrous holy "pouring-in" of his heart. All of a sudden that impenetrable

darkness is pierced by innumerable rays of light for just a moment and the next

moment a blaze of light descends down to

earth from heaven as golden-footed Deep-Lakshmi alights on earth in all her

celestial glory amidst chantings of Vedic hymns. A living luminance of

Universal Motherhood envelopes the entire world in that blessed moment of

fulfillment of a long-awaited dream of the mortal. A sublime light of knowledge

dawns upon humanity and devotion of man finally conquers ignorance. This self

enlightenment is expressed through the twinkling lamps that illuminate the

palaces of the wealthy as well as the lowly abodes of the poor. It is believed

that on this day Lakshmi walks through the green fields and loiters through the

bye-lanes and showers her blessings on man for plenty and prosperity. When the

sun sets in the evening and ceremonial worship is finished all the home-made

sweets are offered to the goddess as "NAIVEDYA" and distributed as "PRASAD".

Feasts are arranged and gifts are exchanged on this day gaily dressed men,

women and children go to temples and fairs, visit friends and relatives.

Everything is gay, gold and glitter!One of the most curious customs which

characterises this festival of Diwali is the indulgence of gambling, specially

on a large scale in North India. It is believed that goddess Parvati played

dice with her husband, Lord Shiv on this day and she decreed that whosoever

gambled on Diwali night would prosper throughout the ensuring year. This

tradition of playing cards- flush and rummy with stakes on this particular day

continues even to-day.On this auspicious day Lord Shri Krishna around whom

revolved the entire story of our great epic Mahabharat and the philosopher, who

preached Karmayog through his Geeta to Arjun on the battlefield of Kurukshetra,

discarded his body.Bhagwan, Mahavir, the Jain prophet also attained "Nirvan" on

this day.Swami Ramtirth, the beloved "Ram Badshah" of millions of Indians was

not only born on this day and took "Sanyas" but also took "Samadhi" on this

day.Swami Dayanand Saraswati,

founder of Arya Samaj in 1875 in Mumbai, with his superb yogic powers greed his

soul from his body and mingled with divinity on this auspicious day of

Diwali.We kindle innumerable lights on this day to immortalise the sacred

memories of those great men who lived to brighten the lives of millions of

their fellow beings.One very interesting story about this Diwali day is from

Kathopanishad of a small boy called Nichiketa who believed that Yam, the god of

Death was as black as the dark night of amavasya. But when he met Yam in person

he was puzzled seeing Yam's calm countenance and dignified stature. Yam

explained to Nichiketa on this Diwali day of amavasya that by only passing

through the darkness of death, man sees the light of highest wisdom and then

only his soul can escape from the bondage of his mortal frame to mingle with

the Supreme Power without whose will not an at ton moves in the world. And then

Nichiketa realised the importance of worldly life and

significance of death. Nichiketa's all doubts were set at rest and he

whole-heartedly participated in Diwali celebrations.The FOURTH day is PADWA or

VARSHAPRATIPADA which marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya and

Vikaram-Samvat was started from this Padwa day.Govardhan-Puja is also performed

in the North on this day. As per Vishnu-Puran the people of Gokul used to

celebrate a festival in honour of Lord Indira and worshipped him after the end

of every monsoon season but one particular year the young Krishna stopped them

from offering prayers to Lord Indra who in terrific anger sent a deluge to

submerge Gokul. But Krishna saved his Gokul by lifting up the Govardhan

mountain and holding it over the people as an umbrella.Govardhan is a small

hillock in Braj, near Mathura and on this day of Diwali people of Punjab,

Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar build cowdung, hillocks, decorate them with

flowers and then worship them.This day is also observed as

Annakoot meaning mountain of food. In temples specially in Mathura and

Nathadwara, the deities are given milkbath, dressed in shining attires with

ornaments of dazzling diamonds, pearls, rubies and other precious stones. After

the prayers and traditional worship innumerable varieties of delicious sweets

are ceremoniously raised in the form of a mountain before the deities as "Bhog"

and then the devotees approach the Mountain of Food and take Prasad from

it.Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped in every Hindu household and her blessings

sought for success and happiness. This day is looked upon as the most

auspicious day to start any new venture. In many Hindu homes it is a custom for

the wife to put the red tilak on the forehead of her husband, garland him and do

his "Aarathi" with a prayer for his long life. In appreciation of all the tender

care that the wife showers on him, the husband gives her a costly gift. This

Gudi Padwa is symbolic of love and devotion between the wife and

husband. On this day newly-married daughters with their husbands are invited for

special meals and given presents. In olden days brothers went to fetch their

sisters from their in-laws home for this important day.The FIFTH and final day

of Diwali Festival is known by the name of "BHAYYA-DUJ" in the Hindi-speaking

belt "BHAV-BIJ" in the Marathi-speaking communities and in Nepal by the name of

"BHAI-TIKA". As the legend goes Yamraj, the God of Death visited his sister Yami

on this particular day. She put the auspicious tilak on his forehead, garlanded

him and led him with special dishes and both of them together ate the sweets,

talked and enjoyed themselves to their heart's content, while parting Yamraj

gave her a special gift as a token of his love and in return Yami also gave him

a lovely gift which she had made with her own hands. That day Yamraj announced

that anyone who receives tilak from his sister will never be thrown. That is

why this day of Bhayyaduj is also known by

the name of "YAMA-DWITIYA" Since then this day is being observed as a symbol of

love between sisters and brothers. It became also imperative for the brother to

go to his sister's house to celebrate Bhayyaduj.In today's world when pressing

everyday problems are teaming as under all the tender words of personal

relationships, the celebrating of this day has its own importance in continuing

to maintain the love between brothers and sisters for it is the day of

food-sharing, gift-giving and reaching out to the inner most depths of the

hearts.Diwali on the whole has always been the festival with more social than

religious connotations. It is a personal, people-oriented festival when

enmities are forgotten, families and friends meet, enjoy and establish a word

of closeness.As a festival of light and beauty it encourages artistic

expressions through home-decorations stage-plays, elocution competitions

singing and dancing programmes, making gift items and making

delectable sweets thereby discovering new talents of younger people. As a result

innumerable communities with varying cultures and customs mingle together to

make Diwali celebrations a very happy occasion for all.Gurudev Rabindranath

Tagore has so aptly put forth the true significance of Diwali in these

beautiful lines:The night is black Kindle the lamp of LOVE With thy life and

devotion.http://members.tripod.com/~jennifer_polan/hinduism/diwali.html

Wishing you all a very Happy Diwali and a prosperous New year..

Deepa H

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