Diwali or Deepavali is generally celebrated because Lord Rama returned to Ayodhya on this day after 14 years of exile. This happy occasion is commemorated by lighting lamps and making sweets and being together with friends and family. The festival of lights is celebrated with more pomp and splendour in the North than in the South of India. In fact, in Kerala, it is not a very big festival at all. Onam is the festival which is more popular in God’s own Country. Read on to know the different days and reasons why Diwali is celebrated. 

Diwali is a festival that celebrates the evil forces being destroyed - when darkness is dispelled by the light of happiness. Good always triumphs over evil. It is the way of the world.

The festival of lights is celebrated differently in the Northern and Southern states. Deepavali is a festival of 5 days in the North as opposed to just 2 in most of the Southern states. 

The Story of Deepavali

Goddess Lakshmi and the third avatar of Vishnu, The Varaha avatar created a child called Naraka. Naraka was a good child, but very ambitious. He did penance and prayed to Brahma. Lord Brahma was pleased by his penance and appeared before him. He asked for riches and powers and a boon that he will be killed by no one other than his mother. After all, which mother can kill her child? Therefore, he   became invincible. With so much power came cruelty and he became very cruel. He abducted 16,000 princesses and also stole the ear rings of Aditi, one of Satyabhama’s cousin. Satyabhama is Krishna’s wife. When her cousin told her of Narakasura’s deeds, she became very angry. Lord Krishna and she went with their army to kill Narakasura. It was a valiant battle. Krishna killed Naraka’s second in command and started fighting with Narakasura himself. But because of the boon granted by Lord Brahma, he could not kill him. Instead, he was hurt when the asura threw a lightning beam at him. When he fell, Satyabhama, who is an avatar of Goddess Lakshmi, got very annoyed and killed him by shooting an arrow to his heart. She was, after all, his mother.

This day is known as Naraka Chaturdashi. The day when the evil asura was killed by Goddess Lakshmi. This is when we, in the South, celebrate Diwali. This is celebrated as Chotti (small) Deepavali in the North. This is the second day of Deepavali. 

Some beliefs state the churning of the oceans also allowed Dhanvantri to be released. He is a Healer of divine proportions and is the Lord of Ayurveda. The day before Narak Chaturdashi is dedicated to him. But mostly Dhanteras is about celebrating wealth in all its forms. But, we know from the pandemic, that health is also wealth. In Tamilnadu, some families make the Diwali marundhu (medicine) on this day and this yummy healthy concoction of spices and sweet is consumed the next day to help reduce the ill effects of all those sweets we eat!

The third day of Diwali is celebrated because it is believed that this is when Goddess Lakshmi was born. 

But how can a Goddess be born? 

From the churning of the cosmic ocean!

Long ago when the devas and asuras together used the snake king Vasuki around Mount Mandara to churn the cosmic ocean, one of the offerings of that ocean was the Goddess Lakshmi who arrived sitting on a Lotus. She later became the consort of Lord Vishnu. That is why on the third day of Deepavali, we do Lakshmi Puja and worship Kubera who is also the God of wealth for abundance and wealth in our lives. This is the third day of Diwali. In the north, this is the day they celebrate Diwali. 

In some western states, this is also celebrated as New year.

The day after Lakshmi Puja is called Bali Pratipadwa. King Maha Bali was a great demon King. Vishnu, came to visit Bali in his fifth avatar of Vamana. He came as a small sized man and asked King Bali to grant him as much land as he could cover in three steps. King Bali smiled and agreed. After all, how big can three steps of a dwarf take up? But Vamana grew and grew into a giant and his first step covered the Earth. His second covered the Heavens. For his third step, King Bali bent down and offered his head. When Vamana placed his foot on the King’s head, he was sent to the underworld. This is also one of the reasons that Diwali is not celebrated much in Kerala. His mythical return to his kingdom is celebrated with great pomp and splendour as Onam in God’s own country. 

The fifth and last day of Diwali is celebrated as Bhai Dooj, a day when brothers are honoured by sisters. This is especially so in Maharashtra and a few north Indian states. 

In our land, with a religion as old as Hinduism, reasons to celebrate a festival are numerous. Diwali is an example. Lighting lamps during Deepavali, which always comes during the winter seasons is a way to dispel darkness. It brings light, happiness and joy because we gather and celebrate with our families. Of course, we celebrate the return of good triumphing over evil… that’s the way it has to be!