Holi is an ancient Hindu festival of colours and joy. The festival of colours is celebrated to mark the victory of good over evil. It is celebrated in the month of Phalguna (फाल्गुन) as per the Hindu Calendar which generally falls in the month of February/ March.
Holi: The Festival of Colours and Joy
The story of Holi: The Festival of Colors and Joy goes back to Satyuga. The festival celebrates the triumph of good over evil. In Satyuga Lord Vishnu took Narasimha’s avatar to protect his true devotee Prahlad from his own father Hiranyakashyap, the demon king.
Satyuga was the best Yuga (Time) out of four yugas in Sanatana Dharma. The Four Yugas in Sanatana Dharma are as follows:
- Satyuga was the age of Perfection, Truth, and Sincerity in which Dharma (Morality) stood on four legs.
- Tretayuga was the second-best yuga in which Dharma stood on three legs.
- Dwaparyuga was the age of compassion and truthfulness in which Dharma stood on two legs.
- Kaliyuga is the present age in which we are living, full of conflict and sin. Kaliyuga is the age in which Dharma stands on one leg.
The demon king Hiranyakashyap was the son of Rishi Kashyap and Diti. Hiranyakashyap wanted everyone in his kingdom to worship him but, after some time he found that his son Prahlad is the devotee of Lord Narayan.
Hiranyakashyap filled with anger and rage ordered Prahlad to stop worshipping Narayan but to his surprise, Prahlad didn’t stop worshipping Narayan. Hiranyakashyap planned to kill his son Prahlad for disobeying him and tried many ways to kill him but each time Prahlad was saved by Lord Vishnu.
Finally, Hiranyakashyap called Holika his sister to kill Prahlad. Holika had got a boon that she could enter into a blazing fire without being harmed. Hiranyakashyap asked Holika to enter into a blazing fire along with Prahlad to kill him.
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Holika very smartly took Prahlad in her lap and entered into a blazing fire but, this time boon didn’t work and Holika was burnt to ashes, and Prahlad came out unharmed.
The story of Narasimha Avatar
Narasimha avatar was the 4th incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the form of Half-man/Half-lion. Lord Vishnu incarnated as Narasimha to save Prahlad, a true devotee of Lord Vishnu, and to kill demon king Hiranyakashyap. Lord Narasimha killed Hiranyakashyap a day after his sister Holika was burnt to ashes.
In Satyug, Rishi Kashyap and his wife Diti had two sons-Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashyap. Hiranyaksha was killed by the Varaha avatar of Lord Vishnu because he stole Prithvi and hid her in the deep ocean. Hiranyakashyap wanted to take revenge on Vishnu Ji as he killed his brother Hiranyaksha.
Hiranyakashyap went deep into the forest and prayed to Lord Brahma. Lord Brahma was so pleased with his devotion that he granted him a boon. Hiranyakashyap told Brahma Ji that he wanted to be immortal in response to which Brahma Ji replied that he cannot fulfil this boon because it is against the balance of Life.
Hiranyakashyap thought for a while and asked Lord Brahma to grant him a boon that would allow no man, god, or animal created by Brahma to kill him. Nobody could kill him day or night, and no one could kill him in heaven or on earth. Also, no one could kill him with a weapon, or kill him either inside or outside his house.
Brahma Ji granted him the boon. Overjoyed, Hiranyakashyap went back to his kingdom. Over time Hiranyakashyap found his son, Prahlad singing the praises of Lord Vishnu and got angry at him. He asked Prahlad to stop singing the praises of Lord Vishnu but he didn’t.
Hiranyakashyap, filled with anger, asked his guards to kill Prahlad. When nothing worked and Prahlad was still alive, He took him to a room and asked if Lord was present in the room with them. Prahlad replied that the Lord is everywhere.
Hiranyakashyap got frustrated and to mock Prahlad, he asked if the Lord was present in the pillar next to them, Prahlad with a smile replied that Narayan is everywhere. Enraged, Hiranyakashyap kicked the pillar from which Lord Narasimha came out who was half man and half lion.
Lord Narasimha dragged him to the threshold of the door, which was neither outside nor inside his house. He placed him on his lap, which was neither sky nor the earth, and killed him with his claws at twilight, without using any weapons. This is how Lord Narasimha rescued his true devotee Prahlad and also killed the demon Hiranyakashyap.
The Rituals of Holi
The rituals of Holi celebrations begin with Holika Dahan on the eve of H0li. Devotees honour and pray to the spirit of Holika in order to maintain peace and happiness. The ritual of Holika Dahan signifies the victory of Righteousness and it is celebrated to get rid of all kinds of troubles and worries in life.
The rituals of the Holi celebration include the preparation of food like gujhiya, mathri, malpuas, and various types of papad. Drinks like bhang and thandai are also prepared. People make beautiful Rangolis in front of their homes.
On the eve of Holi, the effigy of Holika is burnt, the event is known as Holika Dahan. The very next day Holi is played with colours and water people smear each other with colours, also known as ‘Gulal’. People used to sing and dance to Holi folk songs. In the evening people visit relatives, family, and friends to meet and greet each other.
Significance of Holi Festival
Holi is one of the most important ancient Hindu festivals which is also known as the festival of colours and joy. It signifies the triumph of good over evil as the festival celebrates the victory of true devotion of Lord Vishnu’s devotee Prahlad.
Festivals like Holi, Diwali-The Festival of light, and various other festivals associated with Sanatana Dharma bring us closer to our eternal Sanatana Dharma. The festival celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna.
Holi: The festival of colours celebrates various legends associated with it which are as follows:
The Legend of Prahlad and Hiranayakshyap: Prahlad was the son of demon king Hiranyakashyap. The Demon king wanted to kill Prahlad for worshipping Lord Vishnu instead of him so he asked his sister Holika to enter into a blazing fire along with Prahlad to kill him. Holika had got a boon that she could enter into a blazing fire without being harmed.
Holika very smartly took Prahlad in her lap and entered into a blazing fire but, this time boon didn’t work and Holika was burnt to ashes, and Prahlad came out unharmed. This event of burning Holika to ashes is celebrated as Holika Dahan.
The next day after Holika was burnt to ashes, Lord Vishnu took Narasimha’s avatar to save his devotee Prahlad from his own father Hiranyakashyap. The legend of Prahlad and Hiranyakashyap signifies the victory of good over evil.
The Legend of Radha and Krishna: The festival of colours associated with the legend of Radha Krishna celebrates the eternal and divine love of Radha Krishna. Lord Krishna was a dark-skinned boy while Radha was so fair, he always wonders why Radha was so fair.
One day Yashoda Maiya told Krishna that he can smear colour on Radha’s face and change her complexion to any colour he wanted. Krishna liked the idea very much and did the same. Lord Krishna popularized the festival by smearing colours on Radha and other Gopis. That’s why the Holi of Braj, Barsana, Mathura, and Vrindavan is famous all over the world.
The Legend of Lord Shiva and Kamadeva: The other legend of Holi-The festival of colours revolves around Lord Shiva and Kamadeva. This legend is very popular in the southern parts of India. According to this legend, Lord Shiva cursed Kamadeva and was burnt to ashes by the force of angry Shiva’s third eye.
When Rishi Daksh, father of Mata Sati insulted Lord Shiva, she entered into a blazing fire and embraced death. Lord Shiva was completely devastated and angry. Shiva gave up his worldly duties and went deep into meditation. As Lord Shiva stopped looking into the matters of the world, problems arose.
Meanwhile, Sati was reborn as Parvati and again she wished to have Lord Shiva as her life partner. But Shiva was not waking up from his deep meditation. So, Lord Kamadeva played the role of a cupid between Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati.
Kamadeva struck lord Shiva with his ‘Kamabana’ to arouse passion and love in Shiva. But, Lord Shiva was angered by the act of Kamadeva and the third eye of Lord Shiva got opened and Kamadeva was reduced to ashes.
Kamadeva’s wife Rati pleaded and requested Lord Shiva to bring back her husband, Lord Shiva’s anger calmed down and Kamadeva was brought back to life.
Social and Cultural Significance of Holi
The festival of Holi has cultural significance as the festival signifies the power of truth and celebrates the victory of good over evil. The festival shows the path of Dharma (Righteousness) to the followers of Sanatana Dharma.
The festival of colours helps people to understand the importance of being truthful and honest. Because nowadays people are least concerned about moral ethics and resort to evil practices for small gains.
The festival of Holi brings society closer and strengthens the bond of emotions and affection. The tradition of the Holi is that even the enemies turn friends on Holi and forget any feeling of hardship and bitterness between them.
Types of Holi celebrated in India
Holi is celebrated with colours which popularized it as the festival of colours but various regions of India add different flavours to the festival of colours and make it more interesting.
Lathmaar Holi: In Barsana: The hub of the festival of colours, men of Nandgaon come to play the festival of colours with the girls of Barsana but they are welcomed with sticks.
The unlucky ones are forcefully taken away and get a good thrashing from the women and they are made to wear female attire and dance in public. The men are not supposed to retaliate on this day.
Chita-Bhasma Holi: In Sanatana Dharma dying signifies the Moksha. In Varanasi, an ancient city in India the festival of Holi is celebrated with Pyre ashes. The tradition of playing the festival with Chita-Bhasma started when Lord Shiva played Holi with Chita-Bhasma to celebrate the return of Mata Parvati.
At Manikarnika Ghat of Varanasi, people celebrate the festival by throwing ashes from the cremation ground at each other, that’s why the ritual is called Chita-Bhasma Holi. This form of the festival of colours attracts foreign visitors as well.
Conclusion
The festival of colours is celebrated to mark the victory of good over evil as the festival celebrates the victory of true devotion of Lord Vishnu’s devotee Prahlad.
The festival signifies the power of truth and shows the path of Dharma to the followers of Sanatana Dharma and brings society closer and strengthens the bond of emotions and affection.