Saturday 18 October 2014

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
With one footstep he covered the entire earth. With the next step he covered the whole firmament, the Deva loka. Vamana then asked,” Where shall I place my foot to measure the third step? Bali realized that it was Lord Vishnu who had come to take back what He had allowed Bali to occupy. And to do that He had come in the guise of a Brahmin asking for alms! With all reverence and humility Bali sat and offered his head for Vamana to place his next step on! Vamana placed His foot on Bali’s head and sent him down to Netherworlds (Paataala). As Bali was loved by people of this world and he also loved them, he requested that he be allowed to come back to earth once a year, on this Kaartika Prathama to meet his subjects. Lord Vishnu was very much pleased with Bali and granted this boon. On Bali padyami day, people on earth believe that Bali comes back from Paataala, and they celebrate his return.

A good person is always remembered and honoured for a long time even if he is no longer with them.
**********



No comments:

Post a Comment