Its really a great write up. I myself did not know few of these.
On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 3:19 PM, MURALIDHAR IYER <[email protected]>wrote: > Hello, > I am enclosing below a small write up on the various aspects of Diwali > received from an acquaintance. Hope it is of interest to you. > > M.S.Iyer > > ps: Given below is a note on the various aspects of > Diwali, which may be of interest to you. > ------------------------------ > > THE MANY ASPECTS OF DIWALI > > > I used to associate Diwali with the return of Shri Ram and his companions > to Ayodhya. I was aware of the legend that, seeing them return, the people > of Ayodhya lit lamps (Deep) and put these in their doorways in rows (avali) > to light their path. However, as the following makes clear, there are > other reasons why Diwali is a great time to celebrate for many people. Not > being as well-versed in our mythical lore as I should perhaps have been, I > was not aware of these. > > > > *1.Goddess Lakshmi's Birthday: *The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi incarnated > on the new moon day (amaavasyaa) of the Kartik month during the churning of > the ocean (samudra-manthan), hence the association of Diwali with Lakshmi. > > > > *2. Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: *On this day (Diwali day), Lord Vishnu in his > fifth incarnation as Vaman-avtaara rescued Lakshmi from the prison of King > Bali and this is another reason of worshipping Ma Lakshmi on Diwali. > > > > *3. **Krishna** Killed Narakaasur: *On the day preceding Diwali, Lord > Krishna killed the demon king Narakaasur and rescued 16,000 women from his > captivity. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days including > the Diwali day as a victory festival. > > > > *4. The Return of the Pandavas: *According to the great epic > 'Mahabharata', it was 'Kartik Amavashya' when the Pandavas appeared from > their 12 years of banishment as a result of their defeat in the hands of the > Kauravas at the game of dice (gambling). The subjects who loved the Pandavas > celebrated the day by lighting the earthen lamps. > > > > *5. The Victory of Rama: *According to the epic 'Ramayana', it was the new > moon day of Kartik when Lord Ram, Ma Sita and Lakshman returned to Ayodhya > after vanquishing Ravana and conquering Lanka. The citizens of Ayodhya > decorated the entire city with the earthen lamps and illuminated it like > never before. > > > > *6. Coronation of Vikramaditya: *One of the greatest Indian Kings, > Vikramaditya was coronated on the Diwali day, hence Diwali became a > historical event as well. > > > > *7. Special Day for the Arya Samaj: *It was the new moon day of Kartik > (Diwali day) when Maharshi Dayananda, one of the greatest reformers of H > induism and the founder of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana. > > > > *8. Special Day for the Jains: *Mahavir Tirthankar, considered to be the > founder of modern Jainism also attained his nirvana on Diwali day at > Pavapuri on 15th October, 527 BCE on Kartik chaturdashi. Lord Mahavira > attained his nirvana at the dawn of the amavasya (new moon). According to > the Kalpasutra by Acharya Bhadrabahu, 3rd century BC, many gods were present > there, illuminating the darkness. The following night was pitch black > without the light of the gods or the moon. To symbolically keep the light of > their master's knowledge alive16 Gana-kings, 9 Malla and 9 Lichchhavi, of > Kasi and Kosal, illuminated their doors. They said: "Since the light of > knowledge is gone, we will make light of ordinary matter". The oldest > reference to Diwali is a related word, dipalikaya or deepalikaya, which > occurs in Harivamsha-Purana, written by Acharya Jinasena and composed in the > Shaka Samvat era in the year 705. > > *9. Special Day for the Sikhs: *The third Sikh Guru Amar Das > institutionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Day when all Sikhs would gather to > receive the Gurus blessings. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden > Temple at Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru > Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal Emperor Jahengir, was released from > the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings who were political prisoners and > whose release the Guru negotiated.After his release he went to the Darbar > Sahib (Golden Temple). Because of this, Sikhs also refer to Diwali also as > Bandi Chhorh Divas - "the day of release of detainees." > > > > *10. New Years Day:* The Vikram Samvat begins on Diwali. On this 29th Oct. > we entered Samvat 2065. Originally this was in sync with the start of the > Jain New Year, Vira-Nirvana-Samvat. Now the Jain New Years starts just after > Diwali. > > > > With best wishes for this multifaceted festival, > > > > Kishore Asthana > > > > > > > > > > > >
