Lesser Known Legends of Diwali #Day14
While Diwali is famously associated with the day when Lord Ram returned to Ayodhya after his victory over Ravana, as told in the epic Ramayana, there are various other lesser known legends associated with this widely celebrated festival of lights.
(1) Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu, killed the demon Narakasura, the evil king of Pragjyotishapura, near present-day Assam and released 16000 girls captivated by Narakasura. Diwali was celebrated as a significance of triumph of good over evil after Krishna's Victory over Narakasura. The day before Diwali is remembered as Naraka Chaturdasi, the day on which Narakasura was killed by Krishna.
(2) According to Pintchman, a professor of religious studies, the start of the 5-day Diwali festival is stated in some popular contemporary sources as the day Goddess Lakshmi was born from Samudra Manthan, the churning of the cosmic ocean of milk by the Devas (gods) and the Asuras (demons) – a Vedic legend that is also found in several Puranas such as the Padma Purana, while the night of Diwali is when Lakshmi chose and wed Vishnu. Lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Parvati and Shiva is also worshipped on this day.
(3) In Jainism, Diwali is celebrated in observance of "Mahavira Nirvana Divas", the physical death and final nirvana of Mahavira. The Jain Diwali celebrated in many parts of India has similar practices to the Hindu Diwali, such as the lighting of lamps and diyas. According to the Jain tradition, this practice of lighting lamps first began on the day of Mahavira's nirvana in 527 BC, when 18 kings had gathered for Mahavira's final teachings and issued a proclamation that lamps be lit in remembrance of the "great light, Mahavira".
(4) Sikhs celebrate Bandi Chhor Divas in remembrance of the release of Guru Hargobind from the Gwalior Fort prison by the Mughal emperor, Jahangir, and the day he arrived at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab.
(5) In Andhra folklore, Narakasur is believed to have been killed not by Krishna but by his wife Satyabhama. As the story goes, Narakasur could only be killed by his own mother, and his mother had died when he was a child which seemed to have made him immortal in a way. Interestingly, Krishna was aware that Satyabhama was a reincarnation of Narakasur’s mother and therefore he took her to the battlefield, where she killed the demon.
(6) In West Bengal, Goddess Kali is worshipped on Diwali. Kali was born from Goddess Durga’s forehead to restore peace in heaven and on earth. After destroying all the demons, she wore a garland of the slain demon heads around her neck. However, she lost control and started destroying anything that came in her way.
To stop her, Lord Shiva lay down in her path and, upon unknowingly stepping on him, she recovered her senses.
(7) As the news of King Ram's victory spread in his kingdom, the people of Ayodhya were ecstatic at their beloved King’s return after 14 long years and therefore celebrated by lighting lamps and distributing sweets. Since the mountainous northern region was far away from the capital, it took a month for the news to reach there. The celebrations commenced as soon as the news was received; however since it was a month after the celebrations took place in the rest of the kingdom, it is famously known as Budhi Diwali (meaning old Diwali).
Bibliography
1) Wikipedia2) Reddit
3) thebetterindia.com
4) Pinterest
5) Hindupad
6) Daily Bhaskar
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