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.
No comments:
Post a Comment