Why We Celebrate Diwali?
It’s not just the festive mood in the air that makes you happy, or just that it’s a good time to enjoy before the advent of winter. There are 10 mythical and historical reasons why Diwali is a great time to celebrate. And there are good reasons not just for Hindus but also for all others to celebrate this great Festival of Lights.
Diwali, the festival of lights celebrates the victory of good over evil. In ancient India Diwali was a major harvest festival and the lighting of the lamps was associated with sun. The tiny clay lamps would symbolically signify the sun. The origins of Diwali are varied. But why do we celebrate Diwali? Here are seven reasons why we celebrate Diwali in India.
Goddess Lakshmi’s Birthday: The Goddess of wealth and the consort of the god Vishnu is Lakshmi, one of the principal deities of the Hindu religion and the Supreme Being in the Vaishnavism Tradition. According to mythology, she was first incarnated on the new moon day (Amavasya) of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean (Samudra Manthan). She is one of the most popular of goddesses, and thus strongly associated with Diwali.
Return of Rama to Ayodhya
This is perhaps the most popular and widespread belief. And while this is true, the return of Rama to Ayodhya is certainly not the only reason why we celebrate Diwali. According to Ramayana, Dashratha, the father of Rama and the king of Ayodhya owed his wife Kaikeyi a favor. At an opportune moment, Kaikeyi sought to cash in on the favour and asked that the king banish Rama the kingdom’s favorite crown prince from the kingdom for 14 years and place her son, Bharata on the throne. The heartbroken king kept his word and banished Rama from Ayodhya. For the next 14 years, Rama and his wife Sita along with his brother Lakshmana wandered the forests of India. Their wanderings were interrupted by Ravana the king of Lanka who abducted Sita. After an epic battle, Rama, Lakshmana and Sita returned to Ayodhya and its subjects welcomed them by lighting oil lamps outside their homes and showing their favorite prince the way back home.
Birth of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and her wedding to Vishnu
Diwali is primarily a celebration of wealth. And it is thus that Lakshmi find herself in the midst of the narrative. Legends suggest that this is the day when Lakshmi was born’ out of the Samudra Manthan (or the Great Churning of the Ocean). Samudra Manthan is a mythical event that finds mention in the Puranas. The event refers to the churning of the Ocean of Milk by the gods and demons. It involved Mount Mandara that served as churning rod and Vasuki, the king of serpents, who resides around Shiva’s neck served as the churning rope. Among the wondrous things that emerged from this churning was Lakshmi. It is believed that Lakshmi emerged from the ocean on this day and was immediately married off to Vishnu. The wedding was celebrated by the lighting of oil lamps.
On this very day (Diwali day), Lord Vishnu disguised in his fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara (the dwarf avatar and Vishnu’s first incarnation) rescued Lakshmi from the prison of King Bali. and this is another reason of worshipping Ma Larkshmi on Diwali.
The killing of Narakasura
According to legend, Narakasura was the son of Bhudevi, the Earth goddess and Varaha, the third incarnation of Vishnu. However over time Narakasura turned evil and he began expanding his reign and capturing kingdom after kingdom. He then trained his guns towards the heavens and overthrew Indra the king of the gods. To make matters worse he stole the earrings of Aditi, the heavenly mother goddess, usurped some of her territory, and kidnapped 16,000 princesses. The gods sought the help of Vishnu since it was predicted that his incarnation would be responsible for killing Narakasura. Vishnu, so the legend says, was born as Krishna and eventually married Satybhama who was also believed to be an incarnation of Bhudevi, the mother of Narakasura. Satyabhama was outraged at the ill-treatment of the princesses at the hands of Narakasura and urged her husband to wage a war against him. On the night before the New Moon, Krishna killed Narakasura and freed the 16,000 princesses. This day is celebrated as Narak Chaturdashi since it is the event took place 14th day of the month. In Goa, large effigies of Narkasura are burnt to commemorate the event.
On the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakaasur of Pragjothispura, who had invaded the three worlds, taking great pleasure in torturing the beings there. Krishna rescued 16,000 women from his captivity. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days including the Diwali day as a victory festival: The second day of Diwali is Naraka Chaturdasi.
The killing of the demons, Shambhu and Nishambhu
Shambhu and Nishambhu were two demons who wreaked havoc not just on earth but also in the heavens. Just like the mortals on earth, the gods too felt terrorized by these asuras. With every new battle, the demons grew stronger and the gods more desperate. All seemed to have been lost for the gods who, by now, had taken refuge in the Himalayas. The gods sought protection from Durga, the goddess of Shakti. And it was thus that Kali was born from Durga’s forehead. Her sole purpose was to destroy the demons and save the universe. Kali set out to kill Shambhu and Nishambhu along with her escorts Dakini and Jogini. Another battle ensued at the end of which the two demons were killed and a victorious Kali made a garland of their heads and wore it around herself.
But this isn’t where the story ends. Somewhere in the midst of all the bloodshed, Kali lost control and began destroying everything and everyone that stood in her path. The joy of the gods was short lived and they watched in horror Kali’s rage filled destruction. Finally, to stop this endless slaughter, Shiva threw himself in the path of Kali. When the goddess inadvertently stepped on him, she regained her senses and stopped in her tracks. The well-known image of Kali with her tongue sticking out is that of shock at stepping over Shiva.
The release of Guru Hargobind
The sixth Guru of Sikhism became the leader of his community after the Mughal emperor Jahangir executed his father Guru Arjan. Guru Hargobind is credited with ushering in martial tradition in the Sikh religion. It was this very practice that earned the ire of Jahangir who imprisoned Hargobind inside the Gwalior Fort. While it remains unclear how many years he spent in captivity, the guru was released around 1611 or 1612. But Hargobind wasn’t the only one imprisoned in the fort. Along with him were 52 kings who had rebelled against the Mughal Empire. During his time in prison, Hargobind had become a spiritual mentor of sorts to these 52 kings who were clearly upset over losing his company. And so Hargobind requested that they be released along with him too and stood as surety for these kings. Jahangir, who by now, had reverted to Akbar’s policy of religious inclusion accepted the request and the 52 kings were released along with Hargobind.
This is the reason why Sikhs also celebrate Diwali, which is primarily a Hindu festival. And Amritsar’s Golden Temple, the most important shrine of the Sikhs is lit up and shines brighter than ever during Diwali.