1) Goddess Lakshmi's Birthday : On this very Diwali day, the Goddess of
wealth, Lakshmi is said to have been incarnated from the depth of the
bottomless ocean. The Hindu scriptures tell us that both Devas(gods) and
Asuras (demons) were mortal (Mrita) at one point of time. Seeking a
deathless condition (Amarattva), they churned the ocean to seek Amrita, the
nectar of immortality (an event mentioned in the Hindu scriptures as
"Samudra-manthan" ), during which a host of divine celestial objects came
up. Prime among these was Goddess Lakshmi, the daughter of the king of the
milky ocean, who arose on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik
month. She was subsequently married to Lord Vishnu on the same darkest
night of the year and brilliant lamps were illuminated and placed in rows
to mark this holy occassion.
Hence the association of Diwali with Goddess Lakshmi and the tradition of
lighting of lamps and candles during the festival. To this day, Hindus
celebrate the birth of the goddess Lakshmi and her marriage to Lord Vishnu
on Diwali and seek her blessings for the coming year.
2) The Legend of King Mahabali : The Bhagavata Purana (also known as Srimad
Bhagavatam), the most sacred Hindu text, reveals how on a Diwali day Lord
Vishnu, in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara, rescued Lakshmi from the
prison of King Bali during the Treta Yug. Bali, or rather King Mahabali,
was a powerful demon king who ruled the earth. Powered by a boon granted to
him by Lord Brahma, Bali was invincible and even gods failed to defeat him
in battles. Although a wise and perfect king otherwise, Mahabali was
violent in his ways with the Devas (gods). On their insistence, Lord Vishnu
disguised himself as a short Brahmin and approached Bali for some charity.
The righteous and benevolent King couldn't refuse the Brahmin's offer and
was tricked into giving up his kingship and wealth (of which Lakshmi is
said to be the Goddess). Diwali marks this overcoming of Mahabali by Lord
Vishnu and this is another reason why Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on
Diwali.
In Kerala, the festival of 'Onam' is celebrated around the month of August
to mark this legend.
3) The Killing of Narakasura: The Bhagavata Purana tells us about
Narakasura, an evil demon king who had managed to acquire awesome powers.
Unrivalled in prowess, he conquered both the heavens and earth and was
tyrannical in his reign. Addicted to power, he even stole the earrings of
Aditi, the heavenly mother goddess, and usurped some of her territory. When
Lord Vishnu was incarnated as Krishna in the Dwapara Yuga, he killed
Narakasura on the day preceding Diwali and rescued 16,000 women whom the
demon had imprisoned in his palace. The deliverance from the terrible
Narakasura was celebrated with much grandeur, a tradition that continues to
this day.
However, another version of the story credits Lord Krishna's wife
Sathyabhama as the one who eliminated Narakasura. It is said that
Narakasura could only be killed by his mother Bhudevi and as Satyabhama was
an incarnation of the same Bhudevi, she only could kill him. Before death,
however, Narakasura realized his mistake and requested a boon from
Satyabhama that everyone should celebrate his death with colorful light. To
commemorate his death, the event is celebrated in some parts of India as
Naraka Chaturdasi, two days before Diwali day.
4) The Return of the Pandavas: The great Hindu epic `Mahabharata' reveals
that it was `Kartik Amavashya' (the new moon day of the Kartik month) when
the Pandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as a result of
their defeat in the hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling).
The five Pandava brothers, their mother and their wife Draupadi were
honest, kind, gentle and caring in their ways and were loved by all their
subjects. To celebrate the joyous occassion of their return to Hastinapura
and to welcome back the Pandavas, the common people illuminated their state
by lighting bright earthen lamps everywhere. And the tradition is
maintained to this day.
5) The Victory of Rama: The great Hindu epic `Ramayana' describes how Lord
Ram (the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Treta Yug) conquered Lanka after
vanquishing the evil King Ravana and after passing a period of of fourteen
years in exile returned to his capital Ayodhya on a new moon day of Kartik
with wife Sita and brother Lakshman. To celebrate the homecoming of their
beloved king, the people of Ayodhya burst crackers, lit up their houses
with earthen lamps (diyas), and decorated the entire city in the grandest
manner. Year after year this homecoming of Lord Rama is commemorated on
Diwali with lights, fireworks, bursting of crackers and merriment. The
festival gets its name Deepawali, or Diwali, from the rows (avali) of lamps
(deepa) that the people of Ayodhya lit to welcome their King.
6) Coronation of Vikramaditya: It is also said that Vikramaditya, the
legendary Indian king famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity was
coroneted on the Diwali day following his victory over the Sakas in 56 BC.
This was marked by a grand celebration which is still maintained annually.
One of the greatest Hindu monarchs, Vikramaditya ruled the greatest empire
in the world from modern-dayThailand in the east to the borders of
modern-day Saudi Arabia in the west. Diwali, thus, apart from being a
religious festival also has a historical association.
7) The Enlightenment of Swami Dayananda Saraswati: Diwali also marks the
auspicious occasion when on a new moon day of Kartik (Diwali day) Swami
Dayananda Saraswati, one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism attained his
nirvana (enlightenment) and became Maharshi Dayananda, meaning the great
sage Dayananda. In 1875, Maharshi Dayananda founded the Arya Samaj,
"Society of Nobles", a Hindu reform movement to purify Hinduism of the many
evils it became associated with at that era. Every Diwali, this great
reformer is remembered by Hindus all over India.
8) The Enlightenment of Vardhamana Mahavira: For Jains, Diwali commemorates
the enlightenment of Vardhamana Mahavira(the twenty-fourth and last
Tirthankaras of the Jains and the founder of modern Jainism) which is said
to have occurred on Oct. 15, 527 B.C. This is one more reason to engage in
Diwali celebrations for pious Jains and other than the purpose of
commemoration, the festival stands for the celebration of the emanicipation of
human spirit from earthly desires.
9) Special Day for the Sikhs: For Sikhs, Diwali holds a special
significance for it was on a Diwali day that the third Sikh Guru Amar Das
institutionalized the festival of lights as an occasion when all Sikhs
would gather to receive the Gurus blessings. It was also on a Diwali day in
1619 that their sixth religious leader, Guru Hargobind Ji, who was held by
the Mughal Emperor Jahengir in the Gwalior fort, was freed from
imprisonment along with 52 Hindu Kings (political prisoners) whom he had
arranged to be released as well. And it was also on the same auspicious
occasion of Diwali when the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at
Amritsar was laid in 1577.
10. Goddess Kali: Kali, also called Shyama Kali, is the first of the 10
avatars (incarnations) of Goddess Durga, Lord Shiva's consort. According to
legend, long ago after the gods lost in a battle with the demons, Goddess
Kali was born as Kal Bhoi Nashini from the forehead of Goddess Durga. Said
to be a personification of Nari Shakti (female power), Kali was born to
save heaven and earth from the growing cruelty of the demons. After killing
all the devils, Kali lost her control and started killing anyone who came
her way which stopped only when Lord Shiva intervened. The well-known
picture of Ma Kali, with her tongue hanging out, actually depicts the
moment when she steps on the Lord and repents.
That momentous day has been commemorated ever since and the main purpose of
celebrating Kali Puja is to seek the help of the goddess in destroying evil
both external and internal to us as also to get her blessings for general
happiness, health, wealth, and peace.
To conclude, there are several reasons behind Diwali celebrations and
almost every region of India has its own reason to observe the occasion.
All of these however, matters little to the festival itself. Whatever the
cause behind its celebration, Diwali is undoubtedly a national festival of
India, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians
regardless of faith. *
*Happy Deepavali to everyone!*
wealth, Lakshmi is said to have been incarnated from the depth of the
bottomless ocean. The Hindu scriptures tell us that both Devas(gods) and
Asuras (demons) were mortal (Mrita) at one point of time. Seeking a
deathless condition (Amarattva), they churned the ocean to seek Amrita, the
nectar of immortality (an event mentioned in the Hindu scriptures as
"Samudra-manthan" ), during which a host of divine celestial objects came
up. Prime among these was Goddess Lakshmi, the daughter of the king of the
milky ocean, who arose on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik
month. She was subsequently married to Lord Vishnu on the same darkest
night of the year and brilliant lamps were illuminated and placed in rows
to mark this holy occassion.
Hence the association of Diwali with Goddess Lakshmi and the tradition of
lighting of lamps and candles during the festival. To this day, Hindus
celebrate the birth of the goddess Lakshmi and her marriage to Lord Vishnu
on Diwali and seek her blessings for the coming year.
2) The Legend of King Mahabali : The Bhagavata Purana (also known as Srimad
Bhagavatam), the most sacred Hindu text, reveals how on a Diwali day Lord
Vishnu, in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara, rescued Lakshmi from the
prison of King Bali during the Treta Yug. Bali, or rather King Mahabali,
was a powerful demon king who ruled the earth. Powered by a boon granted to
him by Lord Brahma, Bali was invincible and even gods failed to defeat him
in battles. Although a wise and perfect king otherwise, Mahabali was
violent in his ways with the Devas (gods). On their insistence, Lord Vishnu
disguised himself as a short Brahmin and approached Bali for some charity.
The righteous and benevolent King couldn't refuse the Brahmin's offer and
was tricked into giving up his kingship and wealth (of which Lakshmi is
said to be the Goddess). Diwali marks this overcoming of Mahabali by Lord
Vishnu and this is another reason why Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on
Diwali.
In Kerala, the festival of 'Onam' is celebrated around the month of August
to mark this legend.
3) The Killing of Narakasura: The Bhagavata Purana tells us about
Narakasura, an evil demon king who had managed to acquire awesome powers.
Unrivalled in prowess, he conquered both the heavens and earth and was
tyrannical in his reign. Addicted to power, he even stole the earrings of
Aditi, the heavenly mother goddess, and usurped some of her territory. When
Lord Vishnu was incarnated as Krishna in the Dwapara Yuga, he killed
Narakasura on the day preceding Diwali and rescued 16,000 women whom the
demon had imprisoned in his palace. The deliverance from the terrible
Narakasura was celebrated with much grandeur, a tradition that continues to
this day.
However, another version of the story credits Lord Krishna's wife
Sathyabhama as the one who eliminated Narakasura. It is said that
Narakasura could only be killed by his mother Bhudevi and as Satyabhama was
an incarnation of the same Bhudevi, she only could kill him. Before death,
however, Narakasura realized his mistake and requested a boon from
Satyabhama that everyone should celebrate his death with colorful light. To
commemorate his death, the event is celebrated in some parts of India as
Naraka Chaturdasi, two days before Diwali day.
4) The Return of the Pandavas: The great Hindu epic `Mahabharata' reveals
that it was `Kartik Amavashya' (the new moon day of the Kartik month) when
the Pandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as a result of
their defeat in the hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling).
The five Pandava brothers, their mother and their wife Draupadi were
honest, kind, gentle and caring in their ways and were loved by all their
subjects. To celebrate the joyous occassion of their return to Hastinapura
and to welcome back the Pandavas, the common people illuminated their state
by lighting bright earthen lamps everywhere. And the tradition is
maintained to this day.
5) The Victory of Rama: The great Hindu epic `Ramayana' describes how Lord
Ram (the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the Treta Yug) conquered Lanka after
vanquishing the evil King Ravana and after passing a period of of fourteen
years in exile returned to his capital Ayodhya on a new moon day of Kartik
with wife Sita and brother Lakshman. To celebrate the homecoming of their
beloved king, the people of Ayodhya burst crackers, lit up their houses
with earthen lamps (diyas), and decorated the entire city in the grandest
manner. Year after year this homecoming of Lord Rama is commemorated on
Diwali with lights, fireworks, bursting of crackers and merriment. The
festival gets its name Deepawali, or Diwali, from the rows (avali) of lamps
(deepa) that the people of Ayodhya lit to welcome their King.
6) Coronation of Vikramaditya: It is also said that Vikramaditya, the
legendary Indian king famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity was
coroneted on the Diwali day following his victory over the Sakas in 56 BC.
This was marked by a grand celebration which is still maintained annually.
One of the greatest Hindu monarchs, Vikramaditya ruled the greatest empire
in the world from modern-dayThailand in the east to the borders of
modern-day Saudi Arabia in the west. Diwali, thus, apart from being a
religious festival also has a historical association.
7) The Enlightenment of Swami Dayananda Saraswati: Diwali also marks the
auspicious occasion when on a new moon day of Kartik (Diwali day) Swami
Dayananda Saraswati, one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism attained his
nirvana (enlightenment) and became Maharshi Dayananda, meaning the great
sage Dayananda. In 1875, Maharshi Dayananda founded the Arya Samaj,
"Society of Nobles", a Hindu reform movement to purify Hinduism of the many
evils it became associated with at that era. Every Diwali, this great
reformer is remembered by Hindus all over India.
8) The Enlightenment of Vardhamana Mahavira: For Jains, Diwali commemorates
the enlightenment of Vardhamana Mahavira(the twenty-fourth and last
Tirthankaras of the Jains and the founder of modern Jainism) which is said
to have occurred on Oct. 15, 527 B.C. This is one more reason to engage in
Diwali celebrations for pious Jains and other than the purpose of
commemoration, the festival stands for the celebration of the emanicipation of
human spirit from earthly desires.
9) Special Day for the Sikhs: For Sikhs, Diwali holds a special
significance for it was on a Diwali day that the third Sikh Guru Amar Das
institutionalized the festival of lights as an occasion when all Sikhs
would gather to receive the Gurus blessings. It was also on a Diwali day in
1619 that their sixth religious leader, Guru Hargobind Ji, who was held by
the Mughal Emperor Jahengir in the Gwalior fort, was freed from
imprisonment along with 52 Hindu Kings (political prisoners) whom he had
arranged to be released as well. And it was also on the same auspicious
occasion of Diwali when the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at
Amritsar was laid in 1577.
10. Goddess Kali: Kali, also called Shyama Kali, is the first of the 10
avatars (incarnations) of Goddess Durga, Lord Shiva's consort. According to
legend, long ago after the gods lost in a battle with the demons, Goddess
Kali was born as Kal Bhoi Nashini from the forehead of Goddess Durga. Said
to be a personification of Nari Shakti (female power), Kali was born to
save heaven and earth from the growing cruelty of the demons. After killing
all the devils, Kali lost her control and started killing anyone who came
her way which stopped only when Lord Shiva intervened. The well-known
picture of Ma Kali, with her tongue hanging out, actually depicts the
moment when she steps on the Lord and repents.
That momentous day has been commemorated ever since and the main purpose of
celebrating Kali Puja is to seek the help of the goddess in destroying evil
both external and internal to us as also to get her blessings for general
happiness, health, wealth, and peace.
To conclude, there are several reasons behind Diwali celebrations and
almost every region of India has its own reason to observe the occasion.
All of these however, matters little to the festival itself. Whatever the
cause behind its celebration, Diwali is undoubtedly a national festival of
India, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians
regardless of faith. *
*Happy Deepavali to everyone!*
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