The Traditional Stories Behind Diwali

India’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage mainly stems from its age old glorious religious history. There are over three hundred festivals, including Diwali, celebrated in India every year. The history of Indian festivals is dedicated to thirty three hundred lakh gods and goddess that are worshiped all throughout the year. Each of the deities has his or her own significance and is revered with great devotion.

One such festival, which is celebrated all over the country, is Diwali. Diwali is associated with the defeat of evil at the hands of good. Diwali is celebrated by lighting lights in homes and business places, distributing sweets and bursting firecrackers. The lights and firecrackers keep evil away. There are many traditional stories attached to this glorious festival. Here are a few of them:

Defeat of evil Ravana by Lord Rama: Lord Rama is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Lord Rama was sent into exile by his father for fourteen years. During his stay in the jungle his wife queen Sita was abducted by the evil king of Lanka, Ravana. With the help of an army of monkeys Lord Rama killed Ravana and brought Sita back to his kingdom at the end of exile. The day he came back his subjects welcomed his return by decorating the city , bursting firecrackers and lighting lamps. This day is celebrated as Diwali every year.

Return of Pandavas to their kingdom: According to the epic Mahabharata, Diwali is celebrated as a day when Pandavas came back from their exile of 13 years to get their kingdom back from their evil brother the Kauravas. People celebrated this day by lighting earthenware diyas in the entire state and welcomed their rule with great joy and celebrations.

Incarnation of Goddess of Wealth: The celebration of Diwali begins with the worship of goddess of prosperity and wealth Laxmi.  She was incarnated during the churning of the ocean by the gods and demons.

Death of Demon Narakasur: Narakasur had his kingdom in Nepal. Blinded by his wealth and power he imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of gods and saints in his harem. He also snatched the earrings of Goddess Aditi. Aditi was also a relative of Lord Krishna’s wife Satyabahama. Satyabahama with the help of Lord Krishna defeated Demon Narakasur and freed the girls from his harem.

King Vikramaditya: King Vikramaditya is the most popular king in the history of India. His rule is also referred to as the golden age of the kingdom of India. Diwali is celebrated as the day Vikramaditya was crowned as the king and began ruling the country.

Some Common Diwali Customs

Deepavali or Diwali is the festival of lights. The very name of the festival reveals its meaning. The word means a string of lights. The day falls on the day of ‘amavasya’ that is the day of the new moon. The lighting of lamps in and outside the house signifies the defeat of the evil of darkness. Light is the symbol of hope and prosperity and when we light up our houses we drive away the darkness.

Diwali usually falls in the month of October or November. This is the time when the seasons change and the New Year starts with new hope and best wishes for the wellbeing for everyone. Diwali is very important for Hindus as well as Buddhists, Sikhs and the Jains. Every religion has a different story or stories behind this beautiful festival.

The customs might be different in every religion but the festival is celebrated with the exchange of gifts, sweets and well wishes. The festival brings with it a series of festivals, each one of which is celebrated with fervor and joy.

Customs of Diwali

The first day is Dhanterus. On this day people renovate, decorate and light up their workplaces and houses. Lights are left on for the whole night to attract goddess Laxmi to their homes and workplaces. People buy gold and silver jewelry on this day. It is believed that spending money on this day attracts more wealth.

The second day of Diwali is also known as the choti Diwali. People get up early in the morning before sunrise and bathe with a scrub made with gram flour and fragrant oils. It is customary to burst firecrackers on this day as the sound keeps evil away. Fourteen diyas made from wheat flour and desi-ghee (homemade clarified butter) are lit up around the house to welcome wealth and prosperity.

The third day is the most important day of the Diwali festival. Houses, streets, localities,

workplaces, buildings and shops are all decorated with diyas, candles and electric lights. People get up early in the morning and prepare a rangoli designs at the entrance of their homes. They dress up in new clothes and women wear jewelry and prepare for the puja in the evening. Firecrackers and sweets are the favorites for kids on this day.

The fourth day of the festival is devoted to the work tools. Deities are bathed in milk and dressed in new clothes and ornaments. The last and the final day of the festival is celebrated by brothers and sisters all over the world. Sisters prepare delicacies for their brothers and brothers get sweets and gifts for theirsisters.

Diwali Diversity

The Diwali date usually falls between mid-October to mid-November. This is the time when the seasons change and bring with it new opportunities and a fresh start for everybody. Traditionaly, Diwali or Deepavali is celebrated by the lightening of lamps and bursting firecrackers to ward off evil (of any kind). People pray for a successful and peaceful year and distribute sweets among their family and friends. They pray that the sweetness spreads to the lives of their near and dear ones.

Here is a brief overview of the legends or stories behind Diwali celebration in different religions.

Sikhism: One of the stores of the beginning of Diwali celebrations among the Sikhs dates back  to the time when the foundation stone for the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid down.

Historically Diwali has been celebrated among the Sikhs for hundreds of years but the significance increased with this day marking the release of their revered Guru Hargobind form prison. He was help prisoner by the Mogul emperor in the Gwalior fort. He also facilitated the release of 52 Hindu Kings. Guru Hargobind’s first stop after release was at the Golden Temple. To comemorate his arrival  and  the celebration of his release, the temple was lit with lights and candles whilst sweets were distributed.

Hinduism: For the Hindu’s there are many stories, which are linked to the Diwali celebrations in different regions. The most popular one is the celebration of Lord Rama’s homecoming form a 14-year exile. Lord Rama was the son of the King of Ayodhaya. He was exhiled for 14-years by his stepmother. During his exile, he beheaded the 10-headed demon Ravan. Lord Rama is believed to be the human incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

With his return, Lord Rama brought wealth, prosperity, and happiness to his kingdom and people lived happily ever after. Diwali is celebrated with lights, sweets, new clothes, jewellery and prayers for peace and wealth.

Jainism: Jains celebrate Diwali as a mark of respect for Lord Mahavira. It is this day that Lord Mahavira left his body and attained the highest spiritual level that is the nirvana. Jains maintain a  three day fast and recite mantras and believe that Lord Mahavira is guiding them on the path of moksha. They also listen to Uttaradhyavan Sutra, the last preachings by Lord Mahavira.

This day is also auspicious for opening new business accounts with the blessings of Lord Mahavira.

Buddhism: Buddhists celebrate Diwali in their own quite way. Diwali is also known as Ashoka Vijaydashmi. For them this is the day

when emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism and decided to dedicate his life to spread the teachings of Lord Buddha. This festival is celebrated in monasteries and temples all over the world. Buddhists celebrate Diwali by chanting mantras and decorating their place of worship and homes with lights. The lights signify the enlightenment of Lord Ashoka.

5 Day-Long Celebrations for Diwali

Diwali represents the beginning of joy and the victory of good over evil. People from all over the world celebrate this Diwali five-day festival with great joy and happiness. The festivities start with the welcoming of the New Year for the merchant community. The preparations actually begin many days before the festival day with people planning for the celebrations with full fervor.

Here is an outline of each one of the festival days to help you prepare better for Diwali 2011.

1. 
   Dhanterus: The festivities begin with the worship of goddess Laxmi. She is the goddess of wealth and prosperity. Dhanterus is the combination of two words Dhan + Terus. Dhan represents wealth and the word Terus represents the 13^th lunar day of the Kartik month in the Hindu calendar, which usually falls in the month of October or November. It is a tradition to buy new utensils for their home to attract wealth to the home. It is also believed in some cultures that spending money on this day attracts more money therefore spending is good.
2. 
   Choti Diwali: This day falls on the 14^th lunar day of the Kartik month of the Hindu calendar i.e. a day before Diwali. This day celebrates the death of demon Naraksura by Lord Krishna. It is a tradition to take a bath early in the morning and light up wheat flour diyas in an around the house to indicate happiness.
3. 
   Diwali: The third and the most celebrated day of the festivities falls on this day. People clean their house, decorate, dress up in new clothes and light up their houses/ business places with attractive lights, candles, bulbs and diyas. An evening puja of the goddess of wealth is performed after sunset. People pray for the goddess to come and stay at their place and grant them the wish of lifelong wealth and prosperity. It is also customary to exchange sweets with each other, which indicates sharing joy.
4. 
   Govardhan Puja: It was this day when Lord Krishna lifted a mountain named Govardhan on his little finger to protect his villagers and cattle from the wrath of the rain god. People worship their cattle and fields and pray for a good crop and that cattle produce all through the year, which in turn brings wealth to their community and households. They also worship their tools of trade such as the plough, seeds, fodder etc.  Cattle are dressed and decorated with beautiful colors, tattoos, paper etc.
5. 
   Bhai Dooj: The 5^th and the final day of Diwali celebrations marks the end of the festivities. Bhai means brother in English and Dooj is the second day of the new season. This day is dedicated to brothers and sisters. Sisters pray for the long life of their brothers and brothers promise to look after their sisters. Those who eat a meal prepared by their sisters never go to hell.