Deepavali festival
Hi Children! Here is Hapymantata Wishing you
all a Very Happy Deepavali and a Pleasant New Year!!
New
Year? Well, the people who are in business start their fresh book of accounts
from this day and so they call it a new year.
Deepavali or Diwali as it is called
in North India, is a joyous occasion all over India celebrated with lights and
crackers, new clothes and sweets, meeting friends and relatives, and having a
swell of a time! It has also a great significance – it denotes Victory of Good
over Evil, end of Misery and beginning of Joy.
Only a fortnight back, we had a long
spell of festivities- Navratri or Dussera. Now this Deepavali is celebrated for
three days in South India as
(1) Naraka Chaturdashi, the 14th day
of darker half of Ashwayuja* month,
(2) Amavasya, the no-moon day, and
(3) Bali Padyami, the 1st day of
Brighter Half of Kaartika** month.
In olden days, main activity on
Naraka Chaturdashi day was to get up early, get caster oil smeared on from head
to foot by an elderly person ,and have a hot water bath using ‘soap-nut powder
to remove oil( This is called ‘oil-bath!,) all this, before sun-rise! Then put
on new cloths and light crackers. Previous day was called ‘neeru tumbuva habba,
i.e. festival of filling water , because,water had to be collected and stored
and heated for the whole family to have ‘oil bath’.
Indian calendar months- Chaitra
Vaishakha Jeshtha Ashada Shravana Bhadrapada Ashvayuja* Kaartika** Margashira
Pushya Maagha Phalguna (starting from april ending in march)
In North India, it commences one day earlier, on Dhan-Teras, and ends
on Bhai-beej, one day after Bali Padyami i.e. for total five days.
There
are a few interesting stories connected with this Festival.
Sagar-Manthan
 |
| Sagar Manthan-Churning of Ocean of milk by Danavas & Devas |
(1) Both the good and righteous Devas and
the Wicked Danavas were aspiring for Amrita, the elixir which would make them
immortal and free from the fear of Death. The Ksheera Sagara (Ocean of Milk) was
to be churned to obtain Amrita. So Devas and Danavas jointly started churning
the ocean of Milk, using Manthara Mountain as churning rod and the serpent
Vasuki as the rope to churn. Lord Vishnu took the form of a Tortoise to carry
the mountain on its back and prevent it from sinking. As the churning progressed,
a number of precious articles emerged. One of them was Dhanvantari, the Doctor
carrying a pot of Amrita, and another was Maha Laxmi, the Goddess of Wealth. Dhanvantari and Maha Laxmi emerged on Dhanteras
day. Lord Vishnu married Laxmi on
Amaavasya Day and so that day is celebrated as Lakshmi Pooja day.
Dhan Teras: “ Dhan” means
“Riches like gold and precious ornaments etc. ‘Teras’ is ‘thirteenth day’ The
day is auspicious for Dhanvantari who represents Health, and Laxmi the goddess
of wealth, both dear to man.
(2) Another legend is, - A young prince
named Hima was married to devoted and intelligent princess. But an astrologer
predicted that on the 4th night after marriage, the prince would die of
snake-bite. That was the Dhanteras Day. The clever princess lit a number of lamps all around
the house and collected all the gold and jewelry at the entrance of her room
and was worshiping Goddess of Wealth- Laxmi. She kept the prince fully awake throughout the
night with songs and prayers. So, when Yama came in the guise of a snake, he
could not approach the prince unnoticed, due to the brightness of lights and
the shining ornaments. The night passed
thus and the princess saved her husband from snake-bite.! Smart girl isn’t it?
In memory of the emerging of
Dhanvantari ,Amrita and Laxmi, and Laxmi
marrying Vishnu, Dhan teras and Amavasya
are celebrated with festivity and worship of Dhana Laxmi.
It is interesting to know that Jains
celebrate Chaturdashi as Day of attaining Nirvana by their last teerthankar
Lord Mahavir.
Sikhs celebrate the day as the day of
liberation of their Guru Har Govindsingh from prison in Gwalior where the
Moghul king Jahangir had imprisoned him.
In South India, , first day of Deepavali
is Narak Chaturdasi, then Amavasya for Laxmi
pooja, and the third day , Bali Padyami. Did you wonder that these two days
were associated with two Demons (asuras) Narakasura and Bali while all other
festivals celebrate gods and goddesses like Rama, Krishna or Lakshmi? There are two interesting stories!
1) Naraka Chaturdasi: The demon Naraka-asura was
the son of goddess Bhudevi (Earth). He was very powerful and he conquered both
Earth and Heaven and usurped Indra’s throne. He abducted 16,000 damsels and
kept them imprisoned in his palace. These damsels prayed to Lord Vishnu for
saving them from Narakaasurs’s atrocities. Krishna, who is an avatar
(incarnation) of Vishnu, and Satyabhaama, the incarnation of Mother Earth, came
to their rescue and engaged Narakaasura
in a fierce battle. They finally defeated Narakaasura by using the weapon
Sudarsana Chakra, and released all the damsels. Krishna drove Narakaasura to
Paataala (the Netherworlds) restored to Indra his kingdom, and the people on
earth were freed from Narakaasura’s tyranny. This brought great joy to people
on Earth. In memory of this, the day of liberation is celebrated with sweets,
lights and fireworks. ‘But why
celebrate an incident which occurred long back?’ you may ask. It is to
commemorate the Victory of Good over Evil, which is relevant even today.
Now the story of second demon- Bali:
2) Bali Padyami: Bali or Maha Bali was also an Asura or Demon
by birth. But he was a very good
person, though born in a demon’s family. He was the great-grandson of
Hiranya-kashipu the cruel demon, but like his grandfather Prahlada, Bali was a
very pious man and a devotee of Lord Vishnu. He acquired a lot of power by
intense penance, and fought with Indra, the lord of heaven and defeated him.
This was to avenge the humiliation suffered by his father at the hands of
Indra. He conquered both Heaven and Earth and established his rule over them.
But he ruled the Earth well and was loved and respected by all. He performed a
number of Yaagas (sacrificial ceremonies) to please Gods and was famous for his
generosity, giving Daana i.e. alms to needy.
Nobody returned from him without getting what he asked. He would adhere
to his word at any cost. All this good qualities had earned him great respect
and love from his subjects. But the gods like Indra, Agni etc. who had been
assigned specific duties of governance by Lord Vishnu, could not carry out
their duties. They had been deprived of their posts. They prayed to Vishnu for
getting back their position and dignity. Though Bali was very upright, his
subordinates became arrogant with power and started misusing their powers and
harassing people. So Lord Vishnu took his fifth avatar on earth, as Vaamana
(the Dwarf), to limit Bali’s power and restore Heavens to Indra. This is how He
did it:
Vamana coming to King Bali for alms
Bali was performing a Yaaga, at the
end of which he was to offer Daana i.e. alms to the needy. Just at that time, a
young Brahmachari, a bright lad, dwarf in build, came to Bali seeking alms.
Seeing this bright young lad, Bali
was very much pleased and asked Vamana what he needed. Vamana said “I am a
Brahmachari, I have no wants except a small piece of land, just three measures
by my feet”! Bali laughed, ‘It is too small an area, ask for something bigger,
and I will give it’. The boy said. ‘No. I am satisfied with only that much
land, but you have to give me your word that I get the land measured by my three steps., and solemnize the promise
by pouring holy water with a tulasi on to my hand.’ Shukracharya the preceptor
of Asuras suspected that it was Vishnu who had come in this form to deprive
Bali of his kingdom of heaven. He warned Bali not to agree to such a promise,
but Bali says he would not go back on his words, once given. Holy water was
poured into Vamana’s hand, and as the water was poured Vamana the dwarf started
growing bigger and bigger!
Soon
Vamana the dwarf was sky high - he had become Trivikrama!
Vamana growing to Trivikrama
A good person is always remembered
and honoured for a long time even if he is no longer with them.
**********
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