Five merry days of Diwali

In today’s fast-paced life, Diwali can help revive your soul, says Anita Iyer.

The word "Diwali" is derived from the Sanskrit word "Deepavali", where Deepa meaning light and Avali, meaning a row. So, the word ‘Deepavali’ means a row of lights and every home is adorned with a row of twinkling diyas, small earthen lamps traditionally fueled by mustard oil, are placed in rows in windows, doors and outside buildings to welcome Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The other attractions of the festival include a surfeit of mithai, Rangoli designs at the entrance of the homes or floral decorations and gifts for all and sundry.

Here we go to the roots of the festival in an effort to keep alive tradition and bring the people who have lost out on the significance of Diwali up to speed.

Of the many legends attached to celebration of Deepavali the most well known is that it is in commemoration of the day when Lord Rama returned to his empire after 14 years of vanvaas or exile. Lord Rama returned after defeating Ravana and so it marks the victory of good over evil. All of Ayodhya were so happy about his return that they spontaneously lit his way with diyas.

The festival of lights is celebrated for five days and each day has it's own significance and ritual. Behind each day, there are many attached legends and myths in the scriptures. Also, each region of India celebrates Diwali in it's own unique way


The first day is Dhanteras or Dhantrayodashi which falls two days before Diwali.
The word "Dhan" means wealth and holds great significance as Goddess Lakshmi is worshipped for wealth and prosperity. On this day, home entrances are adorned with colourful Rangoli designs and small red footprints made from rice flour and vermilion are imprinted all over the house to indicate her awaited arrival. Lamps are lit through the night. The legend behind this is that according to the horoscope of King Hima’s sixteen-year-old son, he was destined to die on the fourth day of his marriage by snakebite. His determined young wife didn’t allow him to sleep that night by reciting stories of yore and singing devotional songs. At the entrance of their bedroom, she placed a heap of her gold and silver ornaments and illuminated the room with many diyas surrounding his bed. At midnight when Yamraj, the god of Death arrived in guise of a serpent, the glare of lamps blinded him and he could not enter the prince's chamber. He remained mounted on the heap of ornaments the whole night listening to the young wife’s stories. Thus, the kaal or death of the Prince was held at bay. Since that time, Dhanteras came to be known as the day of "Yamadeepdaan" and the lamps are kept burning throughout the night to worship Yamraj

The more well known importance of this day is that it is extremely auspicious to buy a precious metal. In fact gold and silver shops remain open through the night so as not to turn customers away! Anjali Sonawane, a homemaker says, “Diwali is the most awaited festival in the year. More awaited is the Dhanteras day when we usually shop for gold or silver jewellery or at least something for the home as it is considered auspicious to shop on this day”.

The second day of the festival of lights or Choti Diwali, is called Narak-Chaturdashi. This day symbolizes 'Narakasur Vadh', the death of demon Narakasur, who was also the ruler of Pragjyotishpur. As the story goes, after defeating Lord Indra, the demon snatched away the earrings of Aditi, the Mother Goddess and imprisoned sixteen thousand daughters of the gods. A day before Narakachaturdashi, Lord Krishna killed the demon, recovered the earrings of Goddess Aditi, set free the damsels and accepted them as his wives to save them from embarrassment. To convey victory, he smeared his forehead with the demon’s blood and returned home on the morning of Narakachaturdashi. The womenfolk, whom he married, massaged his body with scented oil and gave him a royal bath to wash away the filth from his body. Following this custom even today, men break a bitter fruit called ‘kareet’ with their foot, symbolizing the way Lord Krishna broke the demon’s head. The juice of the fruit is then touched to the tongue or smeared on the forehead. After this all the family members take an oil bath after applying "Uptan", a paste of gram flour and sandalwood before sunrise on Narakachaturdashi.

The third day of the five-day long festival is actual Diwali, which falls on the absolutely moonless dark night of Amavasya. In the evening, "Lakshmi-Puja" is performed when tiny diyas of clay are lit to drive away evil powers. A part of the ritual in Maharashtra is offering dry coriander seeds with jaggery as offering, Naivedya. This day originally reflected the fact that it is harvest season, a time of prosperity and enjoyment. Also, it is said that goddess Laxmi emerged from the Kshira Sagar when the gods and demons carried out Amrit Manthan. Thus, Diwali is a celebration to commemorate the rebirth of Goddess Lakshmi who is regarded as the goddess of beauty, light, cleanliness, wealth and good luck.

According to Hindu mythology, it is believed that Goddess Lakshmi visits every house during the dark night of Diwali and gives blessings of peace and prosperity only to those who light lamps and keep their house illuminated the whole night. Therefore, people light up lamps in the house in order to light the path of Goddess Lakshmi and welcome the 'Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity'.
Chopadi Puja is a ritual performed on this day when the Hindu businessman traditionally starts a new ledger or Bahikhata for the next year with the hope of greater prosperity in the coming year.

On the home front, after dressing up in new clothes, carrying out Lakshmi Puja, wishing all near and dear ones a very happy Diwali, consuming great quantities of food and mithai, families burn firecrackers to round off a perfect day.

The Fourth day of Diwali is the Govardhan Puja or VarshaPratipada also called Padwa and signifies the day Lord Krishna defeated Indra. As per our ancient scriptures, inhabitants of Gokul, where Lord Krishna had grown up, used to celebrate a festival and worship lord Indra for showering rains. Krishna protested and said it is 'Govardhan', a small hillock that caused rains and not Indra. This infuriated Indra and he caused a deluge to submerge Gokul. To save the locals, Lord Krishna lifted the Govardhan hillock with his little finger and used it like an umbrella. After this incident, a mountain of food is decorated symbolizing Govardhan and offered to Krishna on this day.

The fifth day of Diwali, Bhai Dhooj holds a great significance for brothers and sisters. The legend behind it goes that Yamraj, the Lord of Death visited his sister Yamuna and she put the traditional tilak on his forehead to welcome him. Later they exchanged gifts and had a great time together. At the end, the contented Yamraj announced that brothers who visit their sisters on this day and receive a tilak would prosper in life and be saved from obstacles that come their way. Since then, Bhai dhooj is dedicated to sisters

All of these traditions are kept alive only when parents take the time and effort to inculcate them in children. The most important part is the message conveyed- that of enjoyment and interest in our own culture. In today’s fast paced life where stress is unavoidable, these five days of Diwali offer rejuvenation to the body and spirit. It can be instrumental in awakening of the conscience and enlightenment of the soul, which is necessary for physical well-being.

Deepavali is the celebration of this Inner Light and surpassing of all obstacles and ignorance that comes one’s way

Dr. Hira Taparia, an aura expert says, “There is a lot of significance in lighting of diyas on Diwali as it increases the aura around us. Lighting of earthen diyas awakens the five elements around us like ‘earth’ element due to the earthen diya, ‘water’ element from the oil used in the diya, ‘fire’ element from the spark, ‘sky’ energy is derived from light it emits and ‘air’ element from the smoke and scent of the fire. When you light the diyas in every room, all these energies are released and surround us. These energies enter our body, thereby filling the hollowness within us and rejuvenating our inner self”. Interestingly the rangolis used in Diwali also have significance, as Dr. Taparia adds, “During Diwali, it is suggested that you make a round rangoli as the energy remains intact in that round circumference. If a star or square is drawn, then the energy gets diverted”.