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Find
some delicious recipies for this festive season
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| History
of Diwali India
is a land of festivals. Deepavali or Diwali
is the Festival of Lights and is celebrated
with fervour and gaiety. The festival
is celebrated by young and old, rich and
poor, all alike throughout the country
to ward off the darkness and welcome the
lights into their lives. This festival
symbolises the unity in diversity as every
state celebrates in its own special ways.
The celebration of the four-day festival
commences on Aswayuja Bahula Chaturdasi
and would conclude on Kartika Shudda Vijiya.
The first day of the festival Naraka Chaturdasi
marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka
by Lord Krishna and his wife Satyabhama.
According to puranas Naraka, the son of
Bhudevi,acquired immense power as a blessing
from Lord Brahma after a severe penance.
He soon unleashed a reign of terror in
the kingdom of Kamarupa, harassing the
lestial beings with his invincible might.
Unable to bear the tyranny of the demon,
the celestial beings pleaded with Lord
Krishna to save them from his torture.
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But
Naraka could not be easily killed as he had
a boon that he could face death only at the
hands of his mother Bhudevi. So, Krishna asks
his wife Satyabhama, the reincarnation of Bhudevi,
to be his charioteer in the battle with Naraka.When
Krishna feigns unconciousness after being hit
by an arrow of Naraka, Satyabhama takes the
bow and aims the arrow at Naraka and kills him
instantly.Later Lord Krishna reminds her of
the boon she had sought as Bhudevi.
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The slaying of the Naraka by Sathyabhama
could also be taken to interpret that
parents should not hesitate to punish
their children when they stray on to
the wrong path. The message of Naraka
Chaturdasi is that the good of the society
should always prevail over one's own
personal bonds.
The second day is Amavasya when Lakshmi
puja is performed and is believed that
on this day Goddess Lakshmi would be
in her benevolant mood and would fulfill
all the wishes of her devotees. One
version says that it was on this day
Goddess Lakshmi emerged from Kshira
Sagara when the Gods and demons were
churning the sagara for Amrutha Bhandam.
Another
version is that when Lord Vishnu in
the guise of Vamana, sought three feet
of land from the very generous king
Bali Chakravarthy, Bali had to surrender
his head as Vamana had conquered the
earth and the sky in His two strides.
Lord Vishnu banishes Bali into the Pathala
Loka by keeping his third stride on
Bali's head. Later, pleased by his generosity,
Lord Vishnu grants him a boon and he
inturn requests the Lord to guard his
palace at Patha Loka.
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Meanwhile,
the Goddess is unable to bear the separation
and her grief affects the functioning
of the entire universe. Brahma and Lord
Shiva offer themselves as guards and
plead with Bali to relieve Vishnu. So,
on the Amavasya day Lord Vishnu returns
to his abode and Goddess Lakshmi is
delighted. That is the reason it is
believed that those who worship Goddess
Lakshmi on this day would be bestowed
with all the riches.
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third day is "Kartika Shudda Padyami"
and it is only on this day that Bali would
come out of Pathala Loka and rule Bhuloka
as per the boon given by Lord Vishnu. Hence,
it is also known as "Bali Padyami".
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The
fourth day is referred to as "Yama
Dvitiya" and on this day the sisters
invite their brothers to their homes. However,
in the northern part of India it is celebrated
as the return of Rama along with Sita
and Lakshmana from his 14 years of exile
after killing Ravana. To commemorate his
return to Ayodhya, his subjects illuminated
the kingdom and bursted crackers. For
the Gujaratis, Marwaris and other business
community Diwali marks the worship of
Goddess Lakshmi and also the begining
of the new financial year.
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Bengalis, it is the time to worship Goddess
Kali or Durga. The Goddess Durga continued
her "Vilaya Tandava" even after
killing the demon Mahishasura. To control
her rage Lord Shiva throws himse |
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Significance
of Diwali
Depavali
day,or is it night?It is a festival
where people from all age groups participate
in the festivities to give expression
to their happiness by lighting earthern
diyas, decorating the houses, bursting
fire crackers and inviting the near
and dear ones to their households
for partaking in the sumptious feast.
The lighting of lamps is a way of
paying obeisance to god for attainment
of health, wealth, knowldge, peace,
valourand fame.
It is one time in the whole year that
children volunteer to leave their
beds long before the day begins, having
delayed their retiring there, in the
first place as long as they possibly
can, without incurring pare ntal wrath.Infact,
the traditional oil bath at 3 a.m,
is the only chore that stands between
them and the pre-dawn adventures,as
they emerge, scrubbed clean to get
into their festive attire, and light
up little oil lamps, candles and agarbathis
the wherewithal for setting alight
crackers and sparklers.
Who
shall set off the first chian of crackers
that go boom,bang and vroom? and who
is the owner of the 10-minute banger
that steals the thunder from your
little chain of needle-sized crackers?Does
the boy next door have more crackers
than me?
Competition
is stiff,and even the little girl
in silk pavadais, frocks and their
finery are watching out for the best
sparklers and flowerpots, the rockets
and Vishnuchakras which light-up the
night sky like a thousand stars.Grown-ups
are all the souls of generocity, and
its nary a harsh word of reproch except
a warning to stear clear ofthe crackers.Crackers,
clothes, goodwishes and festive bonhomie
abound,as if there is more coming
from the bottomless source of all
this happiness.
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