Deepavali, or Diwali is an important five-day festival in Hinduism and Jainism, occurring between mid-October and mid-November. For Hindus, Diwali is the most important festival of the year.
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Image: malaysiasite.nl |
Diwali involves the lighting of small clay lamps (divas) filled with oil to signify the triumph of good over evil. Some Indian business communities begin the financial year on the first day of Diwali, hoping for prosperity the following year.
The Origin of Diwali
Vishnu(one of the Hindu Trinity) had a son by the name of
Narakasura. Despite being the son of a deity,
Narakasura's nature was evil. He brought all the kingdoms on earth under his control. Next, he turned his eyes towards heaven. Even the mighty
Indra, the head of all devas(dewa in Malay language, meaning god) could not withstand the assault of this son of
Vishnu and had to flee the heavens.
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Vishnu. Image: freethoughtpedia.com |
Now
Narakasura had become the overlord of both the heavens and earth. His reign of oppression was in full swing. Addicted to power, he abducted 16,100 women and imprisoned them in his personal harem. He stole the earrings of
Aditi, the heavenly mother goddess, and usurped some of her territory.
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Indra on a divine elephant. Image: westminster.edu |
All the Devas, led by
Indra went to
Vishnu to ask him for help.
Vishnu promised them that he will attend to this matter when he is incarnated as
Krishna.
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Krishna. Image: arunachalnews.com |
Vishnu had had ten incarnations in the history of the world, often to save the world from evil. He incarnated as
Rama in the story of Ramayana to destroy the demon king
Ravana, and also incarnated as the
Buddha himself during his tenth incarnation. This is how people relates Buddhism and Hinduism.
Now back to the story.
Narakasura had gained a boon from
Brahma that he would die only in the hands of his mother. Hence it is almost impossible to kill
Narakasura. Note that
Brahma is one of the Hindu Trinity made up by
Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva.
Satyabhama,
Krishna's consort, transformed herself into the avatar of
Bhudevi, Narakasura's mother and went to war with her husband.
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Krishna battering Narakasura. Image: indianetzone.com |
During the war,
Krishna couldn't defeat
Narakasura. Spotting a chance,
Satyabhama, now as an avatar of
Narakasura's mother
Bhudevi, fired an arrow towards
Narakasura and killed him. Before dying,
Narakasura requested a boon that his death anniversary should be celebrated by all people on earth. This day is celebrated as 'Naraka Chaturdashi' - the first day of Diwali.
There are several versions of the story however, but I have no time to relate them all here. There is a video on Youtube.com that tells the story of
Krishna and
Narakasura. You can watch the video
here.
Malcolm.
info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narakasura
http://www.indiaparenting.com/stories/krishna/krishna07.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali
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