KOCHI: Diwali or Deepavali, India’s biggest and grandest festival, is just days away. The festival of lights may need no introduction, but this ancient tradition has many stories on the reason behind its celebrations, which vary widely from region to region. Jitha Karthikeyan brings you some interesting stories told through art
The first mention
According to historians, the very first time Diwali was mentioned was in Vatsyayana’s ancient text, Kamasutra. The night of the Yakshas or Yaksha-Ratri as it was then called, was celebrated with rituals and gambling. In fact, gambling was an integral part of the tradition! Vatsyayana’s description of Diwali serves to take us back to the roots of this festival. There are also references to Diwali in many other books, some of them dating back to even 500 CE. The Neela-mata Purana from this period mentions the all-round illumination at the Deep-mala festival. King Harshavardhana also refers to deepa-pratipad-utsava or the festival of lighting lamps in his book, Nagananda.
Diwali under the Mughals
The Mughals celebrated Diwali with all its fervour and enthusiasm and called it Jashn-e Chiraghan. Emperor Akbar began the tradition during his reign and the Agra Fort was lit up with millions of lamps, glowing in the dark like a magical illusion. The open ground in front of the fort was also used for a spectacular display of fireworks. Women would even watch the display from the top of the Qutub Minar. Under Jahangir’s rule, the lamps were replaced with torches while clothes and gifts were distributed among the poor. This inclusive culture where traditions and festivities intermingled, regardless of religious backgrounds was prevalent in mediaeval India and has been depicted in numerous miniature paintings of the time.
South Indian Deepavali
While North India celebrates the return of Lord Rama from exile, South Indians associate Diwali with the slaying of Narakasura, a demon king, so drunk with power that he literally enslaved his subjects. He was eventually killed after a fierce battle with Lord Krishna, by Satyabhama who had birthed him. The day is an occasion to delight in the triumph of good over evil.
Bengali Diwali
Eastern India has a different story to narrate. It is Goddess Kali who is worshipped on the night of Diwali, according to Bengali traditions. Hindu mythology says that when the goddess went on a slaughtering rampage of demons, it took Lord Shiva to calm her down, when she accidentally stepped on his bare body. This could be a metaphor for ridding ourselves of negativity and ego which could prove to be an obstacle for our spiritual journey.
The tribes of Maharashtra
Maharashtra has an intriguing folklore behind its Diwali celebrations. A young prince, cursed to die four days after his nuptials, was saved from his fate because of his wife’s unrelenting attempts to pray for his life by keeping lamps burning through the night. The day is still celebrated by ensuring lamps or diyas blaze all night. The tribes of Maharashtra make these lamps with the dried pieces of a native fruit mixed with cow dung. Their grain kept in a basket is worshipped as Goddess Lakshmi. Warli paintings practiced by the Adivasi tribes in the state consists of several rudimentary paintings of Diwali festivities on the bare mud walls of their huts.
The reasons to celebrate may be in multitudes. Legends and folklores may abound, based on territorial and regional histories and beliefs. The festival of lights transcends all these cultural differences to offer us all a ground to introspect, to drive away the darkness of ignorance and evil and light the flame of knowledge and goodness. May this Diwali bring on universal compassion and new hopes for a truly glowing world, lit with the lamps of peace.
Sibling love and Diwali
A festival honouring sibling bonds is also associated with Diwali, in some parts of our country since ancient times. Called Yama-dwitya, this festival is celebrated by brothers and sisters a day after Diwali. The story goes that this was the exact day when Yamuna hosted her brother, the God of death, Lord Yama, in her house. Several texts from the 13th century like Hemadri’s Chaturvarg Chintamani and Lilacharitra, describe the customs of people making sweets and other dishes and revelling in the joy of the occasion.
The Gond celebration
The Gond tribe of Chhattisgarh have a unique way of observing Diwali. Called Devari, it marks the first mythical marriage to have taken place in the Gond pantheon. On the night of Devari, the women of the village knock on the door of each household, singing melodiously and requesting the women folk to join them carrying an oil lamp in a pot balanced on their heads, until it forms a procession symbolising a marriage baraat. The primarily agricultural community considers this auspicious day as a time to pay obeisance to their new crop and cattle. Lamps made of rice flour are placed by the children in the tribe outside each home, thus making it a collective prayer for the prosperity of the entire community.