Diwali or the Festival of lights is celebrated over five days and has a number of myths, legends and beliefs associated with itIt’s time for the fanfare to begin with the approaching festival season. In India, festivals, customs and traditions are closely related and diverse at the same time. There are many festivals that entail a set of customs to be followed and then there are customs and traditions that are festival in themselves.
The festival of lights as Diwali is popularly known fetches with it a string of ceremonies that are religiously followed by every devout Hindu. This one, celebrated over five days, has a number of myths, legends and beliefs associated with it.
Unique custom each day
Dhanteras or Dhantrayodashi, the first day of Diwali falls on the thirteenth day of Ashwin. This day is of immense importance to the business of western India – especially Gujaratis. Business premises are renovated and decorated with traditional rangolis made at the entrance to welcome the Goddess of wealth and prosperity.
Naraka-Chaturdashi entails taking an early morning bath before sunrise with oil and a paste of gram flour and fragrant powder is a must with Maharashtrians and North Indians. Steamed vermicelli with milk and sugar or puffed rice with curd is served and consumed after this as part of the custom.
The biggest festival celebrated in India; Diwali is the festival of lights. So, while lighting diyas are a tradition in one and all, there are different customs that are followed by diverse communities and groups.
During Diwali, all home entrances are lit up and decorated with brightly-coloured rangoli patterns to welcome Vishnu’s consort, Lakshmi – the goddess of wealth. The last day of the Hindu financial year in traditional business is celebrated with Chopda Pujan ushering in a new year of accounts.
The Laxmi Puja usually begins with the worship of Vighnaharta Lord Ganesha who is revered first on every auspicious occasion, followed by Mahalaxmi – the goddess of wealth and money, Mahasaraswati – the goddess of books and learning and Mahakali – the goddess of strength, the three forms of goddess Laxmi. At the end, Kuber, the treasurer of the gods, is also worshiped.
Bestavarsh or New Year Day is eagerly awaited by everyone. Celebrated by wearing new clothes, jewellery and visiting family members it’s the first day of the new business year. Stock brokers do mahurat trading or symbolic auspicious business deals on this day. It is considered to be the ideal time to shop or new ventures.
Bhai Dhooj comes exactly two days after Diwali that falls on Amavasya. As per custom, it is imperative for the brother to go to his sister’s house to celebrate the day on which a teeka is applied on the brother’s forehead.
Victory of good over evil
There is a string of legends associated with Dussehra, the festival of goddess Durga, representing two forms of female energy, one mild and protective and the other fierce and destructive. Incidentally, her warrior persona is revered more in Southern India than in the Northern parts, where Durga is regarded as the gentle bride epitomising familial unity.
According to Hindu mythology, goddess Durga is revered for having destroyed the monster-demon Mahishasur – whose powers were said to be greater than those of the gods – and restored heaven to the gods.
As the story goes, the evil powers of Mahishasur, the monstrous water-buffalo bull, had acquired such invincible strength that even Lord Vishnu or Shiv couldn’t bring him to book! That’s when the gods thought of bringing to life a form with the combined powers of the divine trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh… Shakti personified as Durga.
Each of the gods endowed the divine warrior with a special weapon to combat the demon. That explains the reason for hand of the goddess carrying a deadly weapon of destruction. For instance, while the kamandal was Brahma’s offering, Vishnu gave the chakra and the bow and arrow were from Vayu. Similarly, the trishul came from Shiva; the kaladanda from Yamraj, the vajra from Indra; the kuthar from Vishwakarma; the nag from Vasuki, the kharga and dhal from Surya.
Armed with all these divine weapons, mounting on her ferocious lion, there was no way Durga could have lost the battle against Mahishasur! Since that day, the goddess symbolises the victory of good over evil. And, till date, the image of Durga destroying the demon, Mahishasur stands for the final confrontation of the spiritual urge of man with his basic passions.
Customs symbolising mythology
Another legend goes that Lord Ram had invoked the blessings of Durga to kill Ravana, the ten-headed king of Lanka, who had abducted Sita. And, it’s only after killing Ravana that Ram, Sita and Laxman returned victorious to Ayodhya on the day of Diwali.
According to the Mahabharat, after the Pandavas had been in exile, wandering the forests for more than 12 years, they decided to spend the last year in the court of King Virat in disguise. And, to protect their true identity, before entering the court, the Pandavas tied their weapons in a white cloth, disguised it as a corpse and hung it on a Shami tree.
It was only after a year, on Vijayadashmi, the day of Dussehra that the warriors brought down the weapons from the Shami tree and revealed their true identity. Since that day the exchange of Shami leaves on Dussehra has become symbolic of goodwill and victory. This has been a tradition for all celebrating this festival.
There’s another popular legend associated with Kautsa, the son of Devdatt, who is said to have insisted on his Guru Varatantu to accept gurudakshina, after he completed his education. After much persistence, the Guru asked for 14 crore gold coins – one crore for each of the 14 sciences that he taught his student.
To fulfil his guru’s wish, Kautsa approached King Raghuraj, known for his generosity. Unfortunately, the king had just bestowed his entire treasury on the Brahmins, after performing the Vishvajit sacrifice. Determined not to send Kautsa empty-handed, the king went to Lord Indra to request for the gold coins.
At Indra’s behest, Kuber – the god of wealth – poured the gold coins on the shami and apati trees round Raghuraja’s city of Ayodhya. The king gladly gave all the coins to Kautsa, who in turn gave 14 crore gold coins to his guru as his gurudakshina. And, the remaining coins were distributed to the people of Ayodhya.
This incident is believed to have taken place on the day of Dussehra. Since then, there has been the custom of people presenting each other the leaves of apati tree – also called sona or gold – on this auspicious day.
Best time for a start
It’s considered the most auspicious day to commence a new business or enterprise after a host of rites and rituals. As legend goes, according to the Puranas, on one occasion Ved Vyas requested Lord Ganesha to help compose the Mahabharata. After all, it was a huge epic that just couldn’t be penned down by anyone other than the prolific Lord Ganesha known for his capability to write voluminous amounts of literature with ease.
On this, Lord Ganesha consented to do so but only after laying down his own terms. He told Ved Vyas that he would write the shlokas down only if Vyas would match his speed (Incidentally, Lord Ganesha was known to write very fast). The condition being, if he (Lord Ganesha) would have to pause due to any delay or slowdown in Vyas’ recitation, he would discontinue writing the Mahabharata.
To this, Vyas – being shrewd himself – accepted but added that Lord Ganesha would have to first comprehend the meaning of the shloka before penning it down. Once Vyas began composing the epic, he used very complex shlokas that took a little while for Lord Ganesha to comprehend subsequently giving Vyas enough time to compose new ones.
It was on Akshay Tritiya that Ved Vyas began reciting the Mahabharata that was penned down by Lord Ganesha.
On this day, women and unmarried girls worship goddess Gauri and distribute fruits, sweets and other offerings to the deity. Lord Parshuram’s birthday also coincides with this holy day when devout Hindus initiate key activities such as land purchases, jewellery buys, interior renovations and other acts on this all-auspicious day.