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Nav Ratri, Dussehra & Deepavali NEW DELHI: The Demon Is Killed and the Lights Are Lit. With the end of the rainy season, sultry days give way to the onset of autumn in tropical India. Tempers cool with the falling temperature and everyone is in a festive mood, looking forward to almost a month devoted to gods and goddesses, lights and fireworks. The festival season sets off with Nav Ratri, nine days/nights dedicated to nine aspects of the Mother Goddess or Durga. Indian mythological legends attribute the festival, strictly for the orthodox devotees, to an ancient 100-year battle between gods of heaven and devils of the netherworld. The gods were led by their lord Indra and the devils or Asuras by Mahishasur (the buffalo-demon). Gods were defeated. They prayed to the divine Trinity _ Creator, Benefactor and Destroyer _ for help. The gods pooled their divine energy to create an all-powerful goddess called Nav Durga who battled and destroyed Mahishasur. People worship the nine incarnations of this goddess for nine days. They observe fast, shun alcohol and non-vegetarian meal and pray to the divine mother. In the eastern state of Bengal this festival is celebrated in a big way. Over the years it has acquired a social-cultural dimension. The entire community participates in the rituals and other related programmes in towns and villages. For daily worship, clay images of the goddess riding a tiger and carrying deadly weapons in her eight arms and the monster lying at her feet are installed in different residential colonies. On the last day of Nav Ratri, this image is immersed in river or sea, symbolising the return of the goddess to her heavenly abode. In the South, Nav Ratri is observed on a low key, just worshipping and doing pujas for Saraswathi, the goddess of learning. The Nav Ratri coincides with the festival of Dussehra in the North, which is a celebration of victory of good over evil. Dussehra is dedicated to the legendary hero of the great Indian epic, Ramayana. Rama, as he is known, is believed to be an incarnation of god Vishnu, one of the Trinity. Rama was a prince who was banished to the forest for 14 years. When his wife Sita was abducted by the devil king Ravana, he organised an expedition to his island kingdom and killed him in a great battle. On his return after the victory, at the end of banishment, he was crowned the king. People celebrated with great jubilation the return and coronation of their dear prince and his beloved, princess Sita. They observed a festival of lights, which traditionally is celebrated as Deepavali or the garland of lamps even today. A row of candles or any other kind of lamps adorns every Hindu home. As part of the tradition, the image of Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, is worshipped and sweets are offered to friends and neighbours. The evening concludes with a big display of fireworks. Deepavali is celebrated on the 15th day of the dark phase of the lunar cycle in the Indian month of Kartik, which usually falls in November. Among other tales about Deepavali is one that links it to demon king Narakasur, who was killed by Krishna, believed to be another incarnation of Vishnu, whose legend is narrated in the Mahabharat, another great Indian epic. It was at the outset of the Mahabharata war that Krishna preached the philosophy of the Geeta to Arjuna, the legendary archer-warrior who vanquished the Kaurava clan to regain the kingdom of Hastinapur, the region where the National Capital Territory of India, Delhi, stands today.
-by A Correspondent |
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