Diwali
The
ancient story of how Diwali evolved into such a widely celebrated
festival is different in various regions and states of India.
In the north, particularly in Uttar Pradesh,
Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and the surrounding areas, Diwali is the day
when King Rama's coronation was celebrated in Ayodhya after his epic
war with Ravana, the demon king of Lanka. By order of the royal
families of Ayodhya and Mithila, the kingdom of which Sita was
princess, the cities and far-flung boundaries of these kingdoms were
lit up with rows of lamps, glittering on dark nights to welcome home
the divine king Rama and his queen Sita after 14 years of exile,
ending with an across-the-seas war in which the whole of the kingdom
of Lanka was destroyed.
In the south, Diwali has two more legends
connected with it. The first legend again concerns the victory of
good over evil. Narakasura the demon of hell, challenged Krishna to
battle. After a fierce fight lasting two days, the demon was killed
at dawn on Narakachaturdashi.To commemorate this event, people in
peninsular India wake before sunrise and make imitation blood by
mixing kumkum or vermillion with oil. After crushing underfoot a
bitter fruit as a symbol of the demon, they apply the `blood'
triumphantly on their foreheads. They then have ritual oil baths,
annointing themselves with sandalwood paste. Visits to temples for
prayers are followed by large family breakfasts of fruits and a
variety of sweets. The second legend is about King Bali, the
benevolent demon king of the netherworld. He was so powerful that he
became a threat to the power of celestial deities and their
kingdoms. Intimidated by his expanding empire and taking advantage
of his well-known generosity, they sent Vishnu as the dwarf
mendicant Vamana, to dilute Bali's power. Vamana shrewdly asked the
king for land that would cover three steps as he walked. The king
happily granted this gift. Having tricked Bali, Vishnu revealed
himself in the full glory of his godhood. He covered the heaven in
his first step and the earth in his second. Realizing that he was
pitted against the mighty Vishnu, Bali surrendered and offered his
own head inviting Vishnu to step on it. Vishnu pushed him into the
nether world with his foot. In return Vishnu gave him the lamp of
knowledge to light up the dark underworld. He also gave him a
blessing that he would return to his people once a year to light
millions of lamps from this one lamp so that on the dark new moon
light of Diwali, the blinding darkness of ignorance , greed,
jealousy, lust, anger ego, and laziness would be dispelled and the
radiance of knowledge, wisdom and friendship prevail. Each year on
Diwali day , even today, one lamp lights another and like a flame
burning steadily on a windless night, brings a message of peace and
harmony to the world .
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