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Moksha Nirvana: Diwali (Also Spelled Devali in Certain Regions) or Deepavali

Diwali, also known as the "festival of lights," is an important Hindu festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December that involves the lighting of small clay lamps. For Hindus, Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Rama after defeating the demon Ravana. For Jains, it marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira. Diwali involves cleaning homes, lighting lamps on the exterior and interior of houses, sharing meals, wearing new clothes, setting off firecrackers, and inviting family and friends over.

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Surintharan Muthu Kumar
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67 views1 page

Moksha Nirvana: Diwali (Also Spelled Devali in Certain Regions) or Deepavali

Diwali, also known as the "festival of lights," is an important Hindu festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December that involves the lighting of small clay lamps. For Hindus, Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Rama after defeating the demon Ravana. For Jains, it marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira. Diwali involves cleaning homes, lighting lamps on the exterior and interior of houses, sharing meals, wearing new clothes, setting off firecrackers, and inviting family and friends over.

Uploaded by

Surintharan Muthu Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Diwali (also spelled Devali in certain regions) or Deepavali,[note 1] popularly known as the "festival of lights," is

a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons.[1] For Hindus, Diwali is one of the most
important festivals of the year and is celebrated in families by performing traditional activities together in their homes. For Jains,
Diwali marks the attainment of moksha or nirvana by Mahavira in 527 BCE.[2][3]
Diwali is an official holiday in India,[4] Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Mauritius, Guyana, Trinidad &
Tobago, Suriname, Malaysia, Singapore, and Fiji
The name "Diwali" is a contraction of "Deepavali" (Sanskrit: Dpval), which translates into "row of lamps".[5] Diwali
involves the lighting of small clay lamps (dpa in Sanskrit: ) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. [6] These
lamps are kept on during the night and one's house is cleaned, both done in order to make the goddess Lakshmi feel welcome.
[7]
Firecrackers are burst in order to drive away evil spirits.[8][9][10]During Diwali, all the celebrants wear new clothes and
share sweets and snacks with family members and friends.
The festival starts with Dhanteras on which most Indian business communities begin their financial year. The second day of the
festival, Naraka Chaturdasi, marks the vanquishing of the demon Naraka by Lord Krishna and his
wife Satyabhama. Amavasya, the third day of Diwali, marks the worship of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth in her most
benevolent mood, fulfilling the wishes of her devotees. Amavasya also tells the story of LordVishnu, who in his dwarf
incarnation vanquished the Bali, and banished him to Patala. It is on the fourth day of Diwali, Kartika Shudda Padyami, that Bali
went to patala and took the reins of his new kingdom in there. The fifth day is referred to as Yama Dvitiya (also called Bhai
Dooj), and on this day sisters invite their brothers to their homes.

Deepavali or the Festival of Lights is an important and popular festival celebrated throughout the country. In
North India it is celebrated five day long.
Deepavali is associated with many legends.
One is that, on that day Lord Rama returned triumphant to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana.
The second legend goes thus. Narakasura, a monster, ruled the kingdom of Pradyoshapuram. He was a troublemaker to the gods and the pious sages and would disturb their penance or create havoc during the rituals. To
prove his power, Narakasura usurped some territory of Aditi, (the king of Suraloka and a relative of
Satyabhama, Lord Krishna's wife). Vexed with this harassment, Indra and other gods approached Lord Krishna
and pleaded with him to protect them from the demon Narakasura. Satyabhama appealed to Krishna to give
her the golden chance to destroy Narakasura, as Narakasura was given a curse that he would be killed by a
woman. Krishna granted her a boon to fight with Narakasura. With Krishna as the charioteer, Satyabhama
entered the battle field and killed the demon, Narakasura. The killing of Narakasura was a victory of good over
evil. It is interesting to note that Bhudevi, mother of the slain Narakasura, declared that his death should not
be a day of mourning but an occasion to celebrate and rejoice. Since then, Deepavali is being observed by
people every year with joyous celebrations and lot of fun and frolic, and fire works.

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