Wishing you a very happy Deepawali - A Festival which resonates with all Indians.
Derived from Sanskrit dipavali, which means “row of lights,” Deepavali or Diwali, is a Hindu festival known for the brightly burning clay lamps (Diyas in their creative best colours and vibrancy) that the celebrants line up outside their homes. The time, period and dates when this festival is to be celebrated is determined based on the Hindu Lunar Calendar, which marks each month by the time it takes the moon to orbit Earth. Deepavali begins just before the arrival of a new moon between the Hindu months of Asvina and Kartika —which typically falls in October or November of the Gregorian calendar. This year (2021) Deepavali festival has commenced on November 2, and the most important festival day of this five festival is celebrated today, 4th November. This five days long Festival of Lights - Deepavali - is marked by colourful Diyas, prayers, feasts, fireworks, family gatherings, and charitable giving. For some, Diwali is also the beginning of a new year of book keeping. One common connect for the celebration of Deepavali is reverentially honouring and remembering the incarnations of Lord Vishnu (Bhagwan Ram and Bhagwan Krishna) and Goddess Lakshmi.
Diwali is also observed with same reverence and fervour among Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists, who have their own significance to this Festival of Lights. The Sikhs recognize Diwali as a celebration of the release of their Sixth Guru, Hargobind, who was one of their spiritual leaders, from captivity by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir. In his reverence, it is said that Guru Hargobind’s followers decorated and lit up the entire path, all the way to the Golden Temple, with colourful and decorative lamps. The festival also has a significance for the Jains in India. For them, Diwali is the day Lord Mahavira, the last of the Jain Tirthankaras, achieved moksha or enlightenment/nirvana.
The Buddhists too have their own significance for celebrating the Festival of Lights. They celebrate Deepavali as Ashok Vijayadashami day and they believe that it was on this day that King Ashoka the Great embraced Buddhism as his faith and it was he who helped in spreading this new religion across the present day India and beyond.
The Hindi heartland of India - North Indians - commemorate the festival of Diwali to mark that historic event when the people of Ayodhya joined the welcome celebration, by lighting the auspicious lamps (brightly burning colourful clay lamps), of their favourite reverential king, Bhagvan Ram, back to the city of Ayodhya. Bhagwan Ram returned back to Ayodhya after those gruelling 14 years of Vanvas during which Bhagwan Ram had vanquished the demon King Ravan who had deceitfully kidnapped Ma Sita. In this part of our country, the five day festival of Diwali begins with Dhanteras and ends with Bhratri-dwitiya or Bhai-dooj after full five days of celebration.
This year Dhanteras was celebrated on 2nd November followed by Chhoti Deepavali on 3rd November and today is an occasion to celebrate the main Diwali festival when Laxmi Puja is also performed across homes praying Ma Laxmi to grace their homes. Homes across north India are brightly light with burning clay lamps (Diyas in their creative best colours and vibrancy) and also modern day electric lamps and LEDs, which are lined up outside every home. Today is also the day when fire crackers are bursted, although this tradition has unfortunately been at the receiving end of the environmental activists over the years. Tomorrow is the day when Govardhan Puja is celebrated, when Lord Krishna is invoked through Govardhan Puja and on this occasion the venerated cattle’s are also worshipped and this tradition of veneration for cattle finds special mention all through the centuries including finding a mention in article 48 of the Constitution of India under the Directive Principles, which directs the state to make efforts for banning animal slaughtering of cows and calves. The last day of the five day festival, which will be celebrated on 6th November, is celebrated as Bhratri-dwitiya or Bhai-dooj and that brings an end to the Diwali festival. It is customary for people to acquire some expensive items like gold and jewellery or even a household object on Dhanteras. These age old traditions helped in ensuring that the artisans who are involved in the making of these ornaments are fruitfully engaged and rewarded to partake their shares of the agricultural wealth.
In Southern part of India Deepavali is celebrated as the victory and vanquishing of the high and mighty Narakasura by Bhagavan Krishna, another incarnation of Bhagwan Vishnu. Bhagwan Krishna was supported by his beloved wife Sathyabhama in the killing of Narakasura and freeing some 16,000 women who were held hostage by this Rakshas. The mythological story of Narakasura, the son of Bhumidevi (Mother Earth), reveals that although he was the son of a divine spirit, he gave into wicked temptations of power and greed, and became evil in his thoughts and actions. Narkasura was a curse to the people of his kingdom, who caused all round destruction on everything around him. He misused his divine gifted strength to conquer neighbouring kingdoms including Svargaloka. His unstoppable misadventures led him to kidnapping all the beautiful young women in the kingdom of Svargaloka. The residents of Svargaloka sought divine intervention from Bhagwan Krishna, an incarnation of Bhagwan Vishnu, to save them from Narkasura’s terror. Krishna fought in a fierce battle and helped by his beloved wife Sathybhama he could defeat and kill Narakasura thus helping people of Svargaloka to celebrate victory of good over evil.
There is also a mention of the importance of Diwali in the Vedas. According to the Vedic legends, it was on the night of Diwali when Goddess Lakshmi chose to marry Bhagwan Vishnu. In the western parts of India, particularly in Gujrat, Diwali is celebrated as a new year day and old accounting systems continue to treat this day as the beginning of new accounting year and on this day they worship not only Goddess Lakshmi but also Lord Ganesha, whose worship is considered to bring good omen for the new year. In some parts of western India, the Diwali festival marks another story in which Lord Vishnu banished the demon King Bali. People of East India, particularly Bengal, associate Diwali with Goddess Durga and her fierce Ma Kali avatar.
Deepavali - the festival of light - which is celebrated over five days in its diversity across India embodies the spirit of India as a land of righteousness and piety whose age old values and traditions are timeless and have continued to perpetuate unhindered even while we were invaded innumerable times over centuries. This festival therefore has always been of paramount importance to Indians from historic times, who have celebrated it as a festival of light, which commemorates the victory of good over evil. It is a festival which is celebrated with diversity and observed not only by Hindus, but also by Jains, Sikhs, and Buddhists.
Diwali is therefore a quintessential festival of India which exemplifies India as a country of diversity with many different cultural customs and traditions, with a common connect that touches the chord and resonates with all Indians. In that sense the festival of Diwali embodies the poetic expressions of the incredible plurality and diversity of India. Deepavali festival exemplifies the process of unity in diversity through which the extraordinary unity of Indians has been stitched into the very fabric of our Indianness, that is blessed from a land of virtuousness and piety. This is evidenced in the rich diversity in which the festival Deepavali or Diwali is celebrated in all its diversity across India with one central commemoration - Victory of Good over evil and Light over darkness.
Images - courtesy Wiki Commons.
Happy Deepavali 🙏🙏
1 comment:
Lovely write-up on Diwali covering it's mythological and historical significance in all regions of our country. Victory of good over evil,moving to light from darkness, care for animals, for artisans, crafst people in our eco system,sustainable living, gender equality - there are several aspects relevant to modern times that we can draw from our traditions. You have brought them out well in this article, Khened ji. Lucid narration, as always!
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