Introduction:
India is country having a lot of diversities. People from south to north and west to east have different customs , dressings , religion and language. But they have unity in all these diversity that I am an Indian. This is the bond that unite all the Indians irrespective of their caste, creed, sex, language and religion
India can also be called as land of religions. Almost all of the religions in the world are present in India! The main religions of our country are Hindu, Islam and Christianity. Some religions like Buddha , Sikh and Jain are originated from Hinduism. Many religions in the world has roots in India.
Hindus in India have a number of festivals. These festivals differ from place to place. The main festivals of Hindus are Deepavali , Dusarah , Holi , Pongal , Onam , Vishu etc. Out of all these Deewali is celebrated almost in all parts of our country. Deepavali or Deewali is the festival of light. The name indicates the festival of lamps (Deepam). Deepavali means row of lamps. It is celebrated as the commemoration of victory of good over evil.
Deepavali is associated with the Goddess of prosperity Lakshmi. Hindus offer special prayers to Goddess Lakshmi on these days and believe that it will bring prosperity in their future life. So they celebrate the day in a number of ways. Eventhough it changes from place to place the common things that observed are the bursting of crackers , wearing of new dresses and distribution of sweets.
When to celebrate?
When we look to the calendars of this year , previous year or coming year we can see that Deepavali comes usually in the month of October or November in Roman calendar. But actually it comes in the month of Karthika in Saka era , the Indian calendar. It is celebrated by Hindus all over the world at the same time. The celebration usually starts on the 13th day of Karthika. It is known as ‘Dhanteras’. All of you know that ‘therah’ means thirteen and ‘dhan’ means wealth. So literally it means wealth in thirteenth day. Wealth means not only money , but prosperity in all ways. So people usually buy valuable articles like gold , silver etc on these days, with a belief that it will bring prosperity to them. Hence thieves also consider ‘Dhanteras’ as the day of prosperity in their life ! One of my friend told that in North India this is the day to be cared most if you have some wealth with you !
Myths behind Deewali:
A lot of myths are there in connection with Deewali celebration. Some of the myths are shared here.
- This is the myth rooted in the village folks of Himalayan Valley. A severe war was going between Vishnu and Narakasura. Vishnu was about to win the war and Asuras realized that all of them will be demolished if Vishnu wins . So they played a trick to withdraw Vishnu from this war.
Suddenly mist began to fall. The earth began cooling due to mist fall. As a result of severe cold people began to shiver. But Vishnu didn’t care and still faught with Narakasura. So to save the lives of people the God of Fire “Agni” came to earth. It began to set fire here and there on earth. Thus the cold condition disappeared and people on earth saved.
At the same time Vishnu killed Narakasura. When he knew the act of Agni to save the earth inhabitants during his war he thanked Agni and told that people o earth will remember this day by lighting lamps in their houses in every year. Both of them will be worshipped on these days. Thus Deewali came to existence.
- Another myth is related to Lord Rama. After 14 years of exile from the mother land Lord Rama returned back to Ayodhya defeating the demon king Ravana. People of Ayodhya were very happy to welcome their beloved king Lord Rama. They thought about a new way of welcoming and decided to conduct it by lighting lamps in earthen pots. So the light of truth is represented by these lamps. Thus Deewali began to celebrate to commemorate Lord Rama’s victory. It indicates that from Darkness to light.
- Jains believe that Mahaveera passed away on this day. Mahaveera was considered as a lamp of knowledge. When this lamp shut off to compensate it his followers lighted thousands of lamps. Thus Deepavali came in. So besides Hindus , Sikhs and Jains also celebrate Deewali.
- A strong belief behind Deewali is that Goddess Lakshmi will visit houses on these days. So the houses are kept clean and well illuminated. So all the homes are swept well. Only then Goddess Lakshmi will enter that house. If Goddess Lakshmi enter a home that house will be freed from all types of worries and difficulties. Poverty will not be there in houses where Goddess Lakshmi had entered.
Merchants consider Deewali as the start of their business year. So all the debits and credits are cleared prior to Deewali. Eventhough it is a North Indian practice now it is practiced all over India including my state Kerala.
Difference in Celebrations:
India is a vast country. Hence the Deewali celebration also differs from place to place. In North India the celebration goes upto 5 days while in South India it is a one day festival. The five days celebration have their own myths.
As stated earlier the first day of Deewali is celebrated as Dhanteras. According to myth it is the day in which the prince of the King Hima was saved by his wife from a death sentence. To save the life of her husband the princess illuminated the house with lamps all over and piled the coins and gold in the front door. The snake which came to bite the princess could not see well in the glittering of these wealth and the princess told a story to the snake in the whole night. In the morning the snake returned and thus prince escaped from snake bite.
The 14th day of Karthika is celebrated as “Choti Deewali”. It memorise the victory of Lord Sri Krishna over Narakasura. After killing Narakasura, Lord Sri Krishna took the blood of Narakasura and pasted in his own face. So to clean the body Lord Sri Krishna took a bath early in the morning. So people also take early morning bath on Choti Deewali day.
The 15th day of Karthika is the actual day of Deewali. People celebrate it very happily in different ways. Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped on this day. This is the day which is celebrated by all the Hindus in India.
The 16th day of Karthika which is the fourth day of Deewali is observed for Govardhan Puja. It is in memoriam of Govardhan Giri lifting of Lord Sri Krishna.
The 17th day of Karthika is the last day of Deewali. I don’t know what is the myth associated to this day.
Deewali is the national festival of Tamil Nadu. But in my state Kerala it is not celebrated so widely. Only a few Hindus observe the day with crackers. In Bihar the celebration is unique. They pile the cow dung in their yard and adorn it with flowers. Then puja is performed. Later this cow dung is distributed. In Bengal Deewali days are devoted for Kali puja. Actually Deewali is the main festival of Marwadis, Gujarathis and Sindhis. They celebrate it in three days. Since it is celebrated in almost all states all will have their own myths associated to Deewali.
Celebration Custom
All festivals have their own customs of celebration. Deewali also has certain types of customs. Actually it is the festival of enjoyment for children. They get up early in the morning , take bath and new dresses are worn. Girls put on ornaments also and go to temple for prayer and worships. Then sweets are prepared in homes. Ukkari, Boli and Ladu are the main sweets prepared. They are distributed among the relatives and neighbours. In my state eventhough Deewali is not celebrated so popularly Deewali sweets are famous! It will be prepared in Bakeries and no need to prepare in homes!! What an idea to adjust with the busy world !!!
The night of Deewali is the most spectacular scene. Children as well as elders burn different types of fire crackers. The sky will be always soundly and lighting with burst of crackers. Now the crackers come with different colours also. Some of them make a very high sound also to fear all in a sudden like a bomb blast. Some creates colour spectrum in the night sky. Also the houses and streets are well lit with lamps and candles.
Conclusion:
In short Deewali is the festival to mark the victory of good over evil. It is just at our doorstep.
“Thamasoma Jyothirgamaya” – Happy Deewali to all of you.,