Everyone knows that the festival of Deepavali, also called Diwali, originated when the people of Ayodhya cleaned and decorated their houses, and lit lamps to welcome Sri Rama and Sita when they returned after completing 14 years of vanavasa. It is, however, interesting to note that there is no mention of the names Diwali or Deepavali in the two main epics telling Rama’s story—Valmiki’s Ramayana and Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas.
Deepavali first found mention in the Puranas. For example, in the Padma Purana:
Thaile Lakshmirjale Ganga Deepavalyaschaturdasheem|
Praatahkaale Tu Yah Kuryath Yamalokam Na Pashyathi||
On the Chaturdashi (14th day of the fortnight) of Deepavali, Goddess Lakshmi will reside in oil (used in lamps) and the River Ganga in water. Those who use these in the morning will not need to see Yamaloka.
Bhavishya Purana contains:
Raamayanamiva Subhagam Deepadinam Harathu Vo Duritham|
May Deepadinam (Lights of Diwali), which are as beautiful as the story of Rama, remove our sins.
The Skanda Purana says, “If there is a new moon day on Krishna Chaturdashi (14th day of the fortnight) of the Kartik month, and the Swati constellation is visible, Deepavali should be celebrated for three days, starting that day.” Other Puranas like Kalika Purana, Bramhavaivarta Purana, and Vishnu Purana also contain references to Deepavali.
Emperor Harshavardhana wrote a Sanskrit play called Nagananda in which he described the festival as Dipapratipadotsava, and as Yaksha-ratri, in which lamps were lit and newlywed couples were given gifts. Yaksha-ratri is also found in Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra, where it is described as a festival of the yakshas who are the guardians of wealth led by their lord, Kubera. The yakshas celebrated the festival by gambling at night, probably where the practice of gambling on Diwali night started.
In the Kavyamimamsa written in the ninth century by Sanskrit poet Rajashekhara, the festival is called Dipamalika and is associated with cleaning homes and decorating them with lamps. In the Jain scripture, Harivamsa Purana, written by Acharya Jinsena, Diwali is referred to as Deepalika.
Tatastuh lokah prativarsham-aadarat |
Prasiddha-deepalikaya-aatra bharate ||
Thus, the people of Bharata, every year, celebrate Deepalika. Lord Mahavira attained Nirvana on this day.
Sir William Jones, a British judge and orientalist, called the festival Lakshmipuja Dipanwita, which he described as a “great festival at night, in honour of Lakshmi, with illuminations on trees and houses”. A copper plate inscription made by Rashtrakuta King Krishna 3 mentions the festival as Dipotsava. Inscriptions found in the southern parts of India also call it Deepotsavam and Divalige.