Well friends today I tried to bring some information related to Diwali because there are many peoples who don’t know the reason behind celebration of this great Indian festival :
India is a multi religious country, every year we enjoy lots of festivals belonging to different religions. These religions symbolize unity in diversity.
Dussehra, Diwali, Eid, Holi, Christmas all have their own unique style of celebration. Among the Hindu festivals Diwali the festival of light is the most popular.
It is celebrated with fervor and gaiety among all races and religions. Although the festival seasons start from Dussehra which falls 20 days before Diwali, during the Hindu month of Ashvin.
According to legend, Shri Ram killed the demon king of lanka, Ravana.
Shree Ram prayed to ‘Devi Durga’ the Goddess of war and on 10th day of the battle, Shri Ram killed Ravana and it is for this reason that Dassehra is also called ‘Vijaydashmi’.
After 20 days of Dassehra, Diwali is celebrated in the Hindu month of Kartik (around Oct-Nov) on amavasya. Hindus all over the world celebrate the festival with great enthusiasm.
Diwali symbolize the victory of Light over Darkness, it is a mark of triumph of good over evil. This day is devoted to Goddess Lakshmi as it is believed that she pays each house a visit on this day. People hold Lakshmi pujan in their homes.
Diwali is also the festival of sweets and feasting. In the evening diyas(earthen lamp) and candles are placed all around the house after witch the entire family assembles for puja.
A big diya is lit and later taken around light all the candles and diyas. Every town, village and the sky is lit with thousands of crakers bursting and diffusing colors in the sky.
Traditionally this day marks the commencement of the new financial year. It is a very special day for the business community, many business deals are finalized around this time, employer give diwali bonus and other gifts to their staff.
There are some negative sides of this festival too. Some people indulge in gambling on the day of Diwali because it is believed that the wife of Lord Shiva, Goddess Parvati, played a dice game with him on this day and therefore, those who gamble on this auspicious day are blessed with prosperity.
The celebration of this five day festival commences on Ashayuja bahula chaturdashi and ends on Kartika shudda vijaya.
The first day of this festival begins with dhan trayodashi or dhanteras. According to the scriptures Lord Dhanvantari who is also an incarnation of Lord Vishnu came out of the ocean that was churned by the Devtas and Rakshas on the day of Dhanteras. He appeared with ‘Ayurveda ‘for the welfare of mankind.
After Dhanteras the second day of Diwali is ‘Narak Chaturdashi’ It is popular also as choti Diwali. Narak Chaturdashi is related to the demon king ‘Narkasur’ who was the ruler of ‘Pragjyotishpur’ a province near Himalaya. Once Narkasur defeated Lord Indra during a war and snatched away the megnificient earring of Goddess Aditi, who was the ruler of Suryalok and also a relative of Lord Krishna’s wife Satyabhama. By the help of Lord Krishna Satyabhama defeated Narkasur and released all women and saints who were imprisoned by Narkasur in his palace. Satyabhama also restored the megnificient earring of Goddess Aditi.
The third day of Diwali also called Badi Diwali, The main day of celebration. Behind the celebration of Diwali there are many stories. The famous one is that Sri Ram, The seventh incarnation of Lord Vishnu and the eldest son of king of Ayodhya, Dashrath. Sri Ram took birth to free the earth from the cruelty and sin of ten-headed demon king of Lanka Ravana.
The forth day of Diwali is devoted to Govardhan puja (worship of Mount.Govardhan)
According to Vishnu Puran the people of gokul and Brij use to offer prayer to Lord Indra because they believe he was Indra who sent rains for them but Lord Krishna told them it was govardhan parvat and not Lord Indra who caused rains for them so first they should worship Govardhan Parvat and then Lord Indra so the people did the same but it made Indra furious resulting in heavy rains at Gokul ; than Lord Krishna came forward to save the people and lifted Govardhan Parvat as an umbrella on the little finger of his right hand for everyone to take shelter under it. After this incidence Lord Krishna also called Girdhari and Govardhan Dhari.
The fifth day of Diwali is Bhai Dooj also called ‘Yamdwitiya’ because Yamraj the God of death visited his sister ‘Yamuna’ on this day, the day ‘Shukla Paksh Dwitiya’ in the month of kartik.
Diwali is also an important day in Sikh community because the sixth guru ‘Guru Hargovind Ji’ came back from the captivity of Gwalior fort; people lighted lamps in his way to welcome him.
The day of Diwali is also very important for Jain community; Lord Mahaveer attained Nirvana or Moksha this day.
The Jain businesspeople traditionally started their accounting year from Diwali. They take it as a good omen.
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