Legends Of Diwali

Wishing you all, your families and friends a shubh dipawali and a prosperous new year. God Bless you all. No exceptions.

Just like every year, I am wishing my family friends and mates. But do we know why do we wish on diwali and new year? Yes I know its a new year. Buy why? I recently received a very goo email from one of my ex-colleague (Thanks Ketan sir). I would like to share the contents of the email and that will answer the question above. A lot of us may be knowing some of the stories below. I am hoping somebody would come back to say that I knew all of these stories.

Legends Of Diwali

Diwali, the festival of lights, celebrates the abundance of autumn
harvest and is dedicated to various gods and goddesses. The festival
also marks an important date in the Indian calendar, as the North
Indian kingdom of Avadha has celebrated this as the last day of Lord
Rama's long exile of fourteen years. As the citizens of Ayodhya
eagerly awaited their beloved prince's return, they lit thousands of
lamps to guide his flying vimana to their city. The darkest night of
the year gave way to a glorious morning as Rama returned with his wife
and brothers to his ancestral kingdom of Avadha.

Diwali also celebrates the gracious nature of the three goddesses,
Lakshmi, Kali and Saraswati. Dhanteras (two days before Diwali) is
dedicated to Lakshmi, whose blessings are essential for a prosperous,
fruitful and peaceful life. Kali-Chudash (the day before Diwali) is
dedicated to Maha Kali whose strength we seek to maintain the wealth
we have. Strength, physical, mental and spiritual, is essential for
all of us to lead a happy life. Diwali itself is dedicated to goddess
Saraswati. Knowledge is the ultimate wealth, for it cannot be stolen
from you; it is also the ultimate strength, for it often defeats brute
force.

The Legends

Goddess Lakshmi : The Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi was 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.

Vishnu Rescued Lakshmi: On this very 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 Larkshmi on Diwali.

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.

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.

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.

Coronation of Vikramaditya: One of the greatest Hindu King
Vikramaditya was coronated on the Diwali day, hence Diwali became a
historical event as well.