Deepavali – Festival of lights-by Thulasi Muttulingam
Source:Sundayobserver
The Hindu festival of lights, Deepavali is round the corner. It falls this year on Thursday, October 31.
Deepavali in Sanskrit translates to rows of lit lamps – and that’s how it is celebrated across most of the Indian subcontinent. Sri Lankan Tamil Hindus are slightly different however. We reserve the rows of lamps for the festival of Karthigai Deepam, which follows soon after. Some Sri Lankan Hindu households however, have begun to celebrate it in the Indian style now.
Light over darkness
It is a festival celebrating the advent of light over darkness. According to local Hindu Lore, the demon king Narakasura was wrecking hell on earth and heaven. As his name indicates, he was known as the Asura (Demon) from Naraka (Hell). He had won a boon from God that none but his own mother could kill him.
His mother happened to be the Goddess of the Earth, Bhumidevi.
Since no mother would kill her own child, he thought he was invincible – and even though he started out as seemingly a good being, he became drunk with power over time and became more and more of an evil force.
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As they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. His invincibility got to his head.To the extent that even Indra, the King of Heaven could not withstand his assaults.
As his power, arrogance and assaults grew, petitions were made to God Vishnu, the Preserver of Life to subdue him.
Vishnu in his human avatar of Krishna decided to take him on. Knowing about Narakasura’s invincibility clause, he took along his wife Sathyabhama on his eagle mount Garuda. This wife was an incarnation of Bhumidevi – though neither she nor Narakasura apparently knew it.
Subdue
Krishna himself could not subdue the demon king through a long and hard fought war – but eventually Sathyabhama did. In his death throes, he apparently came to his senses and begged for forgiveness from the God and Goddess before him and prayed that his death be commemorated with light and joy every year – hence the Deepavali festival came into being.
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On this day, Hindus are up early to have their traditional bath, dress in fancy new clothes and partake in sweetmeats and savouries aplenty. Go claim your laddoos, kesari, vades and murukkus from your Hindu neighbours! If they are someone like me though, they’ll probably order it for you from Uber Eats. Fortunately, many traditional families with many a traditional wife, mother or grandmother preparing the delicacies are still around. You’ll have better luck with one of them.
Hindus of Sri Lanka do not traditionally light lamps all around their temples and houses as the Indians do – although that tradition is being sparked in some corners here too now, as noted earlier.
Here, it’s generally a day of relaxation, celebration and visits to friends and family. A sense of celebration that evil has finally been snuffed out and a new era of light and goodness has begun. There is hope, joy and thankfulness in the air, joie de vivre at its best, on this day.
Much like the Sri Lankan spirit, when a change of Government is experienced.
Deepavali is a pan Indian phenomenon with not only Hindus but also Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs celebrating it across the subcontinent. They each have their regional as well as religious variations as to why they are celebrating but for all of them, it is collectively a festival of lights; celebrating the triumph of good over evil. And since many Indians have migrated across the world, Deepavali is pretty much an international festival now, with even western countries marking it as a public holiday. For outsiders, it is often a spectacular festival of colour and lights; the giant Rangoli patterns on the floor, the artistically lit and arranged lamps, colourfully dressed and bedecked people in the best of Indian traditional wear spanning various regions.
To the extent that even a famed beverage brand and famous childrens’ toy maker have started advertising niche products for Deepavali. The colours, the lights and the joy are now a worldwide phenomenon.
Regional variations
There are even regional variations even within Hinduism as to why this day is celebrated.
In much of North India for example, people celebrate it as the day Lord Rama, his wife Seetha and brother Lakshmana returned to Ayodhya in triumph after 14-years in exile in the Dandaka forest.
In much of South India as in Sri Lanka however, the tale oft told is that of Krishna and Sathyabhama vanquishing Narakasura. Whatever the regional variation, the oft told tale is one of triumph of good over evil. India and Hinduism being so diverse, you can’t get away with just that though. There are some Indian communities who mourn this day. Tribal people in the Eastern region of Assam for example, claim Narakasura as one of their tribal chieftains, unfairly killed by invading hordes, who then as typical victors, rewrote history in their own favour. Since the story comes down to us before recorded history, in the form of oral traditions however, the truth of all this is now lost to obscurity.
It does offer some food for thought though, as to who celebrates and why.
To paraphrase that famous saying, “One man’s light is another man’s darkness.”
Crores of clay lamps are being baked in the Indian subcontinent right now, to prepare for the festival of lights. Firecracker factories are also cranking up on production – the one aspect of this festival which is less than desirable. Apparently, even climate scientists are doing serious studies on the effects of so many firecrackers going off all across the subcontinent – including in Sri Lanka – on a single evening. Massive air and noise pollution combined not to mention the deleterious effect on both birds and animals.
This is the only part of the celebration that I, as a Hindu, dislike.
I do like some of the firecrackers myself. The children’s kind that fizzes and makes patterns in the air but do not go off with a loud bang. Even that is a significant part of the evening, as the children squeal with joy at the unfolding fire patterns.
The loud sounds though just needlessly scare poor animals. I will probably be hugging my shivering dogs that evening as they tremble through the night. We really need some laws and ordinances around this practice – these kinds of firecrackers are dangerous for humans too and often cause injury when carelessly unleashed.
In the spirit of the festival of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance, I hope we will avoid harmful firecrackers in favour of harmless ones this year and forever more. May you enjoy the light! You don’t need the bangs.
