RELAX
A Primer on
Deepavali
By Farhan Shah
The most important THE ORIGINS
festival in Hinduism, OF DEEPAVALI
Deepavali, which literally The first few recorded instances
of Deepavali were mentioned in
means “row of lights”, is a few Sanskrit Hindu scriptures
the celebration of good like the Padma Purana, compiled
over evil. We take you sometime between the fourth
on a lighted journey and and 15th century, and the Skanda
In the texts, Deepavali is a
tell you more about this Purana.celebrated after the end of
festival
religious holiday. the summer harvest in the Hindu
month of Kartik.
Depending on the religious school
of thought, the spiritual origins
of Deepavali varies from group
to group, but the most common
tale is about the battle between
Narakasura – tyrant king or
malevolent demon, depending on
your perspective – and Lord Sri
Krishna. When Narakasura was
finally defeated, Lord Sri Krishna
returned to the town and the people
lit lamps to celebrate his victory
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Family & Life • Sep 2014
and to welcome
him home. That
was how the
tradition of lighting
oil lamps started.
The Deepavali
festivities actually
last for five days,
with the actual
day of Deepavali
landing on the
third day. On the
first two days,
offices and houses
are cleaned and
decorated, families start preparing
homemade sweets and decorating
the floors with rangoli, and women
paint their hands with henna.
The day after Deepavali is
designated as the day for a husband
and his wife to celebrate their
love and mutual devotion to each
other through gifts and special
meals. The last day of festivities is
dedicated to promoting the loving
relationship between siblings.
Sisters would pray for the wellbeing of their brothers and viceversa. Food-sharing, gift-giving and
conversations are the hallmarks of
this day.