Er. Prabhat Kishore
India is the land of festivals. Deepawali or Diwali is one of them, which
is celebrated on the Amavasya of Kartik Krishna Paksha. The Shanti Mantra
from Brihadaranyaka Upnishad “Tamso Ma Jyotirgamya” i.e. “Lead me from
darkness to light” reveals its spiritual spirit.
Deepawali is a 5-day long festival, which starts from Dhanteras and ends
on Bhaiya Duj. Deepawali is mentioned in Padma Puran and Skand Puran. It is
composed of two Sanskrit words “Deep” i.e. light or candle and meaning that
which glows, illuminates or knowledge and “Awali” i.e. rows or series. Thus
Deepawali means “Rows of Lights” or “Festival of Lights”.
The first day, Dhanvantari Trayodoshi or Dhanteras is celebrated to
commemorate the arrival of Devi Lakshmi from KshirSagar (Ocean) during the
Samudra Manthan (churning of the cosmic ocean of milk) by the Devtas and
Asuras to receive the Amrit (nector). On this day, Bhagwan Dhanvantari also
came out of the ocean with Ayurved for mankind. Bhagwan Kuber, the lord of
wealth is also worshipped. Shopping for new items on this day is considered
auspicious.
Chhoti Diwali, also termed as Narak Chaturdashi or Roop Chaudash, is
the second day of the festival. It is celebrated because Bhagwan Krishna and his
wife Satyabhama had killed demon king Narkasur of Pragjyotish and released
nearly 16000 girls from demon's captivity. It is also believed that Devi Kali had
made Narkasur disappear.
On the third day, the main Diwali is celebrated with great enthusiasm all
over the world. Devi Lakshmi and Bhagwan Ganesh are worshiped together to
achieve the blessing of wealth & prosperity and the triumph of good over evil
and light over darkness. According to mythology, once Goddess Lakshmi was
proud of herself that the whole world worships her and yearns to get her. Lord
Vishnu understood this feeling of his conscience and with the aim of breaking
Lakshmi's pride, he said that Goddess, even though the whole universe yearns to
have you, you are not yet complete. Lakshmiji narrated her woes to her friend
Parvatiji and asked her to adopt Ganesh, one of her two sons. Lakshmiji adopted
Ganesh with the consent of Parvatiji and since then Ganesh was came to be
called the adopted son of Devi Lakshmi. Being very pleased Devi Lakshmi gave
a boon to Ganesh that I will fulfill the wishes of the devotees only when they
will worship you along with me. For this reason, there is a law to worship
Ganesh along with Lakshmi in Diwali. Bhagwan Kuber is also worshiped by the
devotees on this auspicious day.
There are several beliefs behind this festival. In Treta Yug, Raja
Ramchandra along with Sita, Lakshman & Hanuman returned to Ayodhya from
Lanka on this day after victory over Ravan and people celebrated the occasion
by lighting Deeyas and decorating Rangolis. On this auspicious day the Nirvan
Diwas of Bhagwan Mahavir, 24th Tirthankar of Jain, is observed by the
followers of Jainism. The Sikh community celebrates this day to mark the
release of Guru Hargovind ji Maharaj from Mugal prison and his arrival at the
Holy Swarnmandir, Amritsar.
The fourth day is the Govardhan Puja or Padwa. Bhagwan Krishna had
lifted the Govardhan parvat and held it up to protect the people and cattle from
the rain & thunder produced by the angry Indra. When Indra conceded defeat,
on the request of Krishna, the people of Brajbhoomi started performing the
Govardhan Puja.
Bhaiya Duj or Bhai Teeka is the fifth and last day of Diwali. This day is
dedicated to sisters. Yamraj (the lord of death) had visited his sister Yamuna on
this day and gave her a vardhan (boon) that whoever visits his sister on this day
will be liberated from all sins and will achieve Moksha or final emancipation.
As per another belief, Krishna had visited his sister Subhadra after defeating
Narakasur, who welcomed him with a tilak on his forehead.
The festival of Deepawali not only has religious or spiritual significance,
but it also has scientific importance. The clay Deeyas with oil and cotton wick
are eco-friendly and do not leave any harmful residue. During monsoon, the air
is moist and full of bacteria & fungus. The heat generated from the Deeya
destroys the bacteria, insects, fungus and thus cleans the air. The magnesium
present in the Deeya's oil reacts with harmful Sulphur and Carbon Dio-oxide
present in the air to form Sulphate and Carbonates and purify the environment.
The Panch Tatwa (five elements of the universe)-Kshiti (Earth), Jal
(Water), Pawak (Fire), Gagan (Sky) & Sameer (Air)- is represented by the
Deeya. The Earth element is represented by the clay Deeya, oil & cotton wick,
Water is produced during the combustion of oil, Fire by the light generated, Sky
by the light around the flame, and Air is the oxygen diffused to the wick.
Deepawali is the season of celebration and there is joy, light and
happiness everywhere around us. It illuminates the houses and hearts and spread
the message of friendship and togetherness.
(Author is a technocrat and academician.)
