Holi.... festival of colors

 

Holi is one of the major festivals of India. It is the festival of colors. It is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Phalgun as per the Hindu calendar. It generally corresponds to the month of March in the English Calendar. It is celebrated in South Asian countries, especially in India and Nepal.

Picture Credit: TOI Holika Dahan, Udaipur

    The festival is celebrated for two days. First day is celebrated as Holika Dahan. Holi celebrates the killing of Holika in order to save Prahlad, a devotee of God Vishnu and thus Holi gets its name. On this day, a bonfire is lit which is referred to as Holika. It symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Second day is celebrated as Dhulivandan or Rang Panchami. On this day, bright colors and happiness soak each and every corner of the state in India and bring much joy to the lives of the people. In some regions of India, this festival is celebrated for five days.  

Mythology of Holi:

            Once there was a demon King Hiranyakashyapu. He had a son, Prahlad. Prahlad was the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu insisted that only he be worshipped and would kill anyone who disobeys him. But his son continued to worship Lord Vishnu. This made him furious and he decided to kill his own son, so he called his sister, Holika. She had a magic robe. This robe had the power to save the wearer from burning in fire. Holika sat on a bonfire and tricked Prahlad to sit on her lap. As the fire roared, the magical garment covered Prahlad and he came out of the burning fire safely and Holika was burnt to death. Thus, this day is celebrated with colors to mark the victory of virtue and goodness over evil.

Holika Dahan vidhi:

    Holika Dahan is observed on Purnima Tithi in the month of Phalguna, Shukla Paksha. On the eve of Holi, typically after a sunset, people gather around a bonfire which they call Holika Dahan. The ritual symbolizes the victory of good over evil. Pooja is performed in different ways in different regions.

Pooja Samagri: 

Logs of wood, cow dung cake, Gangajal, coconut, a kalash full of water, Batasha or any other sweet, Thread, Diya, Kumkum, Turmeric, Akshada, Incense stick, Dhoop, Gulaal, Flowers. 

• Clean the place with cow dung water or Gangajal where you want to perform Holika dahan.
• Pile the logs of wood and cow dung cake in a pyramid shape.
• Three, five or seven rounds of raw thread are tied around the Holika after which it is burnt.
• Keep all pooja ingredients like Akshada, incense sticks, flowers, raw cotton thread, turmeric, batasha, gulal powder and coconut in a plate.
• First seek the blessings of Lord Ganesha. After worshipping Lord Ganesha, you may proceed with Holika Dahan.
• Perform pooja by offering water, haldi-kumkum, akshada, flowers to Holika. After that empty the water in kalash while taking rounds of Holika pile.
• Perform the ritual by facing towards east or north direction.
• Offer prayers to the Lord Narsimha.
• End the prayers by circumambulating the bonfire thrice, five or seven times.

    Next morning, on the day of Rang Panchami, the ash from the bonfire is collected and smeared on the body. Some people apply the ash on forehead. The ash is considered ash pious and it is believed that body is purified after applying it.

 Celebrations:

On the day of Holi, many sweet dishes are prepared at home like Puran poli, Shrikhand, Basundi etc. In Maharashtra, People prepare Puran poli as Naivedyam which they offer to Holika dahan in the evening and there is one saying in Marathi on this as, “Holi re holi Puranachi Poli”.

On the day of Holi, elder person in the house performs aarti to the children in the family and give them Batasha mala as a sweet and apply colors on their forehead.

    It is said that Lord Krishna started the trend of playing colors. He applied color on his beloved Radha to make her one like him. The trend soon gained popularity amongst the masses. No wonder, there is no match to the Holi of Mathura, Vrindavan and Barsana - the places associated with the birth and childhood of Radha and Krishna.

    People get to gather and often repair broken relationships on this day. People celebrate this festival by playing with colors. They throw colored powder and colored water on each other and enjoys this joyful festival.