Happy Holi To All
Today is Holi Festival. It is one of the
major festivals of India and celebrated with enthusiasm and gaiety on the full
moon day in the month of March as per the Gregorian calendar. There
are many legends and various significances associated with Holi Festival.
A. MYTHOLOGICAL
SIGNIFICANCE AND LEGENDS:
Holi gets us close to Religion and
Mythology as it is essentially the celebration of various legends associated
with the festival.
1. Foremost is the legend of Prahlad
and Hiranyakshyap. Legend
has it that Prahlad was saved for his extreme devotion for the lord while
Holika paid a price for her sinister desire. The tradition of burning Holika or
the 'Holika dahan' comes mainly from this legend.
2. Holi also celebrates the legend
of Radha and Krishna which describes the extreme delight,
Krishna took in applying colour on Radha and other gopis. This prank of Krishna
later became a trend and a part of the Holi festivities.
3. Mythology also states that Holi is the celebration
of death of Asura Woman Putana who
tried to kill infant Krishna by feeding poisonous milk to it.
4. Another legend of Holi which is
extremely popular in Southern India is that of Lord Shiva and
Kaamadeva.
5. Also there is a popular legend of Ogress
Dhundhi who used to trouble children in the kingdom of Raghu and was ultimately
chased away by the pranks of the children on the day of Holi. Showing their
belief in the legend, children till date play pranks and hurl abuses at the
time of Holika Dahan.
FIVE
LEGENDS:
1.THE LEGEND OF RADHA KRISHNA:
Young Sri Krishna is known to be very
playful and mischievous. The story goes that as a child, Krishna was extremely
jealous of Radha's fair complexion since he himself was very dark.
One day, Krishna complained to his
mother Yashoda about the injustice of nature which made Radha so fair and he so
dark. To pacify the crying young Krishna, the doting mother asked him to go and
colour Radha's face in whichever colour he wanted.
In a mischievous mood, naughty Krishna
heeded the advice of mother Yashoda and applied colour on her beloved Radha's
face; making her one like himself.
Well, there is also a legend to explain
Krishna's dark complexion. It so happened that once a demon attempted to kill
infant Krishna by giving him poisoned milk. Because of which Krishna turned
blue. But Krishna did not die and the demon shriveled up into ashes.
The beautiful scene of Krishna's prank in
which he played colour with Radha and other gopis has been made alive in myriad
forms in a number of paintings and murals.
THE
CELEBRATIONS:
Somehow, the lovable prank of Krishna
where he applied colour on Radha and other gopis using water jets called pichkaris gained
acceptance and popularity. So much so that it evolved as a tradition and later,
a full-fledged festival.
Till date, use of colours and pichkaris
is rampant in Holi. Lovers long to apply colour on their beloveds face and
express their affection for each other.
This legend is wonderfully brought alive each year all over India, particularly
in Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Nandgaon-the places associated with Krishna
and Radha.
In fact, the entire country gets
drenched in the colour waters when it is time for Holi and celebrate the
immortal love of Krishna and Radha.
In some states of India, there is also a
tradition to place the idols of Radha and Krishna in a decorated palanquin,
which is then carried along the main streets of the city. All this while,
devotees chant Krishna's name, sing devotional hymns and dance in the name of
the lord.
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2. THE
LEGEND OF PUTANA:
Yet another legend says that there was
an Ogress known as Putana. Lord Krishna's devil uncle Kansa seeked the
help of Pootana to kill infant Krishna by feeding him poisonous milk.
Putana disguised herself as a simple and pious woman and treacherously fed baby
Krishna with her poisoned breast. Lord Krishna, however, sucked her blood which
revealed the monster behind that pious woman and laid her to death.
On the night before Holi, there is a
practice to burn an effigy of Putana - the asura woman who nearly killed Lord
Krishna. The tradition is symbolic of victory of divinity over demonic forces.
It also shows the end of winter and darkness - as typified by Putana.
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3. THE
LEGEND OF LORD SHIVA:
The legend has it that when Lord Shiva's
consort Sati committed herself to fire due to disgrace shown by her father
Daksha to Shiva, Lord Shiva became extremely sad. He renounced his worldly
duties and went into deep meditation.
Meanwhile, the daughter of the
mountains, Parvati started meditating to acquire Shiva as her husband.
Moreover, since Shiva was least interested in the affairs of the world
complications began to generate in matters of the world which made all the gods
concerned and afraid.
The gods then sought the help of Lord
Kaamadeva, the god of love and passion to bring Shiva back to his original
self. Kaamadeva knew that he might have to suffer the consequences of doing
this, but he accepted to shoot his arrow on Shiva for the sake of the world.
As planned Kaama shot his love arrow on
Shiva while he was in meditation. This made Shiva extremely angry and he opened
his third eye - reducing Kaamadeva to ashes. However, Kaamadeva arrow had the
desired effect and Lord Shiva married Parvati.
A short while after this, Kaamadeva's
wife, Rati pleaded Lord Shiva and said this was all the plan of the gods and
asked him to kindly revive Kaamadeva. An embodiment of love himself, Lord
Shiva gladly accepted to do so.Thus the incident had a happy ending for all.
THE
CELEBRATION: It is believed that Lord Shiva burned
Kaamadeva on the day of Holi. Down to south people worship Kaamadeva-the
Love-god for his extreme sacrifice on the day of Holi. In Tamil Nadu, Holi
is known by three different names - Kamavilas, Kaman Pandigai and
Kama-Dahanam.
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4. THE LEGEND OF OGRESS DHUNDHI:
It is believed that there was once an
Ogress called Dhundhi in the kingdom of Prithu (or Raghu). The female monster
used to specially trouble little children who became fed- up of her.
Dhundhi, had a boon from Lord Shiva that
she would not be killed by gods, men nor suffer from arms nor from heat, cold
or rain. These boons which made her almost invincible but she also had a weak
point. She was also cursed by Lord Shiva that she would be in danger from boys
going about crazy.
Deeply troubled by the Ogress, the King
of Raghu consulted his priest. Giving the solution, the priest said that on
Phalguna 15, the season of cold vanishes and summer starts. Boys with bits of
wood in their hands may go out of their house, collect a heap of wood and
grass, set it on fire with mantras, clap their hands, go around the fire
thrice, laugh, sing and by their noise, laughter and homa, the ogress would die.
The legend has it that on the day of
Holi, village boys displayed their united might and chased Dhundhi away by a
blitzkrieg of shouts, abuses and pranks. Children also take great pleasure
in burning Holika.
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5. THE
LEGEND OF HOLIKA:
There was once a demon king by the name of
Hiranyakashyap who won over the kingdom of earth. He was so egoistic that he
commanded everybody in his kingdom to worship only him. But to his great
disappointment, his son, Prahlad became an ardent devotee of Lord Naarayana and
refused to worship his father.
Hiranyakashyap tried several ways to
kill his son Prahlad but Lord Vishnu saved him every time. Finally, he asked
his sister, Holika to enter a blazing fire with Prahlad in her lap. For,
Hiranyakashyap knew that Holika had a boon, whereby, she could enter the fire
unscathed.
Treacherously, Holika coaxed young
Prahlad to sit in her lap and she herself took her seat in a blazing fire. The
legend has it that Holika had to pay the price of her sinister desire by her
life. Holika was not aware that the boon worked only when she entered the fire
alone. Prahlad, who kept chanting the name of Lord Naarayana all this
while, came out unharmed, as the lord blessed him for his extreme devotion.
Thus, Holi derives its name from Holika.
And, is celebrated as a festival of victory of good over evil. Holi is also celebrated as the triumph
of a devotee. As the legend depicts that anybody, howsoever strong, cannot harm
a true devotee. And, those who dare torture a true devotee of god shall be
reduced to ashes.
THE
CELEBRATION:
Even today, people enact the scene of
'Holika's burning to ashes' every year to mark the victory of good over
evil.
In several states of India, specially in
the north, effigies of Holika are burnt in the huge bonfires that are lit.
There is even a practice of hurling cow dungs into the fire and shouting
obscenities at it as if at Holika. Then everywhere one hears shouts of
'Holi-hai! Holi-hai!'.
The tradition of burning 'Holika' is
religiously followed in Gujarat and Orissa also. Here, people render their
gratitude to Agni, the god of fire by offering gram and stalks from the harvest
with all humility.
Further, on the last day of Holi, people
take a little fire from the bonfire to their homes. It is believed that by
following this custom their homes will be rendered pure and their bodies will
be free from disease.
At several places there is also a
tradition of cleaning homes, removing all dirty articles from around the house
and burning them. Disease-breeding bacteria are thereby destroyed and the
sanitary condition of the locality is improved.
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B. CULTURAL
SIGNIFICANCE:
Celebration of the various legends
associated with Holi reassure the people of the power of the truth as the moral
of all these legends is the ultimate victory of good over evil. The legend of
Hiranyakashyap and Prahlad also points to the fact that extreme devotion to god
pays as god always takes his true devotee in his shelter.
All these legends help the people to
follow a good conduct in their lives and believe in the virtue of being
truthful. This is extremely important in the modern day society when so many
people resort to evil practices for small gains and torture one who is honest.
Holi helps the people to believe in the virtue of being truthful and honest and
also to fight away the evil.
Besides, holi is celebrated at a time of the year when the fields are in full
bloom and people are expecting a good harvest. This gives a people a good
reason to rejoice, make merry and submerge themselves in the spirit of Holi.
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C. SOCIAL
SIGNIFICANCE:
Holi helps to bring the society together
and strengthen the secular fabric of our country. For, the festival is
celebrated by non-Hindus also as everybody like to be a part of such a colouful
and joyous festival.
Also, the tradition of the Holi is that
even the enemies turn friends on Holi and forget any feeling of hardship that
may be present. Besides, on this day people do not differentiate between the
rich and poor and everybody celebrate the festival together with a spirit of
bonhomie and brotherhood.
In the evening people visit friends and
relatives and exchange gifts, sweets and greetings. This helps in revatalising
relationships and strengthening emotional bonds between people.
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D. BIOLOGICAL
SIGNIFICANCE:
It is interesting to note that the
festival of Holi is significant for our lives and body in many other ways than
providing joy and fun.
We also need to thank our forefathers who started the trend of celebrating Holi
at such a scientifically accurate time. And, also for incorporating so much fun
in the festival.
As Holi comes at a time of the year when
people have a tendency to feel sleepy and lazy. This is natural for the body to
experiences some tardiness due to the change from the cold to the heat in the
atmosphere. To counteract this tardiness of the body, people sing loudly or
even speak loudly. Their movements are brisk and their music is loud. All of
this helps to rejuvenate the system of the human body.
Besides, the colours when sprayed on the
body have a great impact on it. Biologists believe the liquid dye or Abeer
penetrates the body and enters into the pores. It has the effect of
strengthening the ions in the body and adds health and beauty to it.
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E. SCIENTIFIC
REASON:
There is yet another scientific reason for
celebrating the Holi, this however pertains to the tradition of Holika Dahan.
The mutation period of winter and spring, induces the growth of bacteria in the
atmosphere as well as in the body. When Holika is burnt, temperature rises to
about 145 degrees Fahrenhiet. Following the tradition when people perform
Parikrima (circumambulation or going around) around the fire, the heat from the
fire kills the bacteria in the body thus, cleansing it.
The way Holi is celebrated in south, the
festival also promotes good health. For, the day after the burning of Holika
people put ash (Vibhuti) on their forehead and they would mix Chandan
(sandalpaste) with the young leaves and flowers of the Mango tree and consume
it to promote good health.
Some also believe that play with colours
help to promote good health as colours are said to have great
impact on our body and our health. Western-Physicians and doctors believe that
for a healthy body, colours too have an important place besides the other vital
elements. Deficiency of a particular colour in our body causes ailment, which
can be cured only after supplementing the body with that particular
colour.
People also clean-up their houses on
Holi which helps in clearing up the dust and mess in the house and get rid of
mosquitoes and others pests. A clean house generally makes the residents feel
good and generate positive energies.
COURTESY: holifestival.org
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