Diwali

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Diwali is a truly beautiful time, when candles and fireworks light up the skies. It’s celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists, and has a rich history.

Why is it called the festival of lights? It is called the festival of lights because Diwali marks the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil. The night before of Diwali is known as Narak Chaturdasi, and symbolises the day in which the Hindu demon Narakaasura died. Hindu God Lord Rama and his wife Sita’s returned to their kingdom in northern India after being exiled following the defeat of demon king, Ravanna. To celebrate Diwali people set off fireworks, and lights candles called divas or diyas. This is meant to represent light over darkness and belief that good will always triumph over evil.

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What is the Diwali story, Ramayana? The Ramayana is the story of Lord Rama, the Hindu God, who left his kingdom to live in exile for 14 years. While in exile, Rama’s wife, Sita, was kidnapped by the demon king named Ravana (who was the king of Lanka – now known as Sri Lanka). Rama, who travelled with his brother Laxman, fought for Sita courageously, defeating Ravana and rescuing his wife.

During their exile, Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman were in a forest and Ravana’s sister, Shoorpnakha, was passing by their hut and saw Laxman. She was very proud of her beauty and she was attracted by Laxman. She asked Laxman to marry her but Laxman refused her proposal and cut her nose by his sword to teach her a lesson for her arrogance. As a result, she went to his brother Ravana and told him the whole incident and asked him to exact revenge on them. Ravana sent demons to spy on them, however the spies informed that there was a very beautiful lady called Sita.
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Sita’s beauty caught the eye of Ravana, and he wanted to marry her. One day Ravana sent a demon which changed into a golden beautiful deer who passed by their hut catching Sita’s sight. Sita requested Rama and Laxman to catch that golden deer for her. However this was merely a ploy to distract the brothers, and subsequently, the demon captured Sita. Sita used her intelligence to leave a trail of jewellery so that the brothers could find her.

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Aided by Lord Rama’s trusted ally – Lord Hanuman – (Hanuman is a Vanara meaning Monkey) – they built a bridge which is famous by the name Ram Setu (Adam’s Bridge) to cross the island to reach Sita. When the bridge was completed, they fought a battle with King Ravan and his allies, Kumbhkaran and Vibhishana. The three were killed and Lord Rama freed Sita from the prison of Demon Ravana.
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Diwali marks the day that Prince Rama triumphantly returns to his kingdom of Ayodhya with his wife. It is said that Ayodhya’s villagers welcomed them triumphant return home with thousands of glowing oil lamps on a moonless night. Hence why lamps and diyas are widely used today.
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