Today was Holika Dahan @ Fremont temple. Holi was just another 3 days away. So many years I have had fun and frolic on the day of Holi but not once have I ever looked back and asked myself - why do we celebrate Holi? One good thing about Indian festivals (forget about the fact that there are so many...) is that they all have some essense and meaning in them. People dont celebrate any festival just for the sake of it. A country like ours which has 'n' number of languages and 'm' number of dialects, each state and each community follow a festival for various reasons. This time I asked myself - "What is the significance of Holi?" I had no answer. I asked a few of my friends and to my surprise they did not know it either. Thats when I thought of putting up some information on Holi. Enjoy this informational album about why Holi is celebrated in India. Feel free to add in your comments.
H A P P Y H O L I F O L K S ! - Karthik [Devotee, Volunteer - Fremont Hindu Temple]
Date(s): March 6, 2004. Album by Karthik Nagaraj. Photos by Priya and Karthik. 1 - 13 of 13 Total. 2567 Visits.
I am moving to India with my husband to live in a little while. I have been looking up different holidays and I have to say this is quite interesting. Thanks for the great information. I can't wait to experience Holi for myself. - Victoria, Fri, 17 Mar 2006 10:53PM
Please click on the first photo and navigate along to read the complete comments. Thank you. - Karthik Nagaraj, Thu, 25 Mar 2004 1:07AM
enlarge 56KB, 800x539 1 Happy Holi Folks Spring time is here. Flowers and fields are in bloom and people in India go wild running on the streets smearing each other with brightly hued powders and colored water. This is the festival of Holi, celebrated on the day after the full moon in early March every year. This time it was on 03/09/04. According to the Hindu calender Holi falls in the month of 'Phalguna.' I already mentioned that India is such a vast country stretching from Kashmir in the North to KanyaKumari in the South to Gujarat in the west and Nagaland in the east. Each of these states have their own traditions and customs and cultures. Can you ever find any country like India that bonds hundreds of languages, hundreds of dialetcs, hundreds of traditions, hundreds of customs and hundreds of festivals...under one single roof of a cultural equality. Let us examine one such festival that is celebrated widely across the country - HOLI.
The timing of Holi raises another question. After an icy sway, the winte...
enlarge 80KB, 800x600 2 Holika Dahan begins... Priest, Mr. Govind Srinivas begins the Holika Dahan puja and homa. You can see all the people have assembled to witness the puja and seek blessings of Sriman Narayana.
[HISTORY]
What is Holika Dahan? One of the topics in the annals of Hindu mythology has a story of 'Bhaktha Prahladha.' Prahladha was the son of a demon Hiranyakashyapu. Hiranyakashyapu considered Sri Hari as his enemy and had banned everyone to worship Vishnu. Instead he considered himself to be the supreme leader on earth and hence everybody had to worship him. His brother Hiranyakshaa had met his end at the hands of Vishnu. Hiranyakashyapu had a son called Prahladha who was a staunch follower of SriHari and believed Vishnu and worshipped only Vishnu. This irked Hiranyakashyapu. Hiranyakashyapu forced Prahladha to stop worshipping Vishnu, however Prahladha continued to worship Vishnu. Hence Hiranyakashyapu ordered his son to be killed. Does Prahladha die? What happens?
enlarge 70KB, 800x600 3 What happens to Prahladha? Hiranyakashyapu's servants tried various means of killing Prahladha. They put Prahladha under an elephant's foot but the elephant did not stamp him, instead pampered him. They tried to throw him in the Ganges so that he would sink, but Prahladha again came back unhurt. They tried to throw him from a mountain, but Bhoomi Devi held him in mid air and saved him. Growing with frustation Hiranyakashyapu did not know what to do. The whole world had begun to worship him as the universal leader but his own son, Prahladha, refused to worship him or accept him as the universal leader and instead worshipped Vishnu. Hiranyakashyapu had a sister by name 'Holika', a demoness. She was obvisiouly Prahladha's aunt. Holika had a boon that made her immune to fire. Hiranyakashyapu's wicked mind began to work again... * wicked smile *
enlarge 60KB, 573x800 4 Holika and Prahladha Hiranyakashyapu ordered Holika to carry Prahladha on her lap and sit inside the fire. His plan was that since Holika was immune to fire, Prahladha would burn to ashes in the fire. When Holika entered the fire with Prahladha, she burned to ashes. On her pleading Prahladha forgives Holika and grants her Moksham. Prahladha comes out unscathed from the fire. This only shows that Prahladha's devotion to Vishnu was so great that Sri Vishnu himself protected Prahladha from all the dangers Prahladha was put through.
This story gives us an answer to where Holi gets its name. On this day huge effigies of Holika are burnt to mark the end of evil and the victory of Good over Evil. But one question still remains unanswered - Why play with colors on this day?
enlarge 54KB, 800x600 5 Why play with colors on Holi? Lets turn the pages to another legend that happened more than 100000 years later to answer the question why Holi is played with colors. Legends have it associated vastly to Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna was the 8th avatar of Vishnu. He was born in Mathura and grew up in Nand Gokul. The villagers of Nand Gokul were mainly cowherds. Lord Krishna enjoyed playing with the cowherds and the maidens of the villages. Everyone at the village loved playing Sri Krishna too. As part of his pranks, Sri Krishna would drench the village maidens and friends with colors and water. Thus playing with water and color became a common sport in Mathura and Nand Gokul. Krishna had special affiliation with Mathura, Nand Gokul and Vrindhavan. Why Vrindhavan? Oh yes, by the way thats me...
enlarge 107KB, 800x608 6 Legendary love life of Sri Krishna As Krishna grew up, the game of colors assumed a new dimension. The legend of Sri Krishna's courtship with Radha was colored with this game of water and colors. It was in gardens of Vrindhavan that Sri Krishna's and Radha's love grew. Hence Holi is greatly associated with playing colors. It is because of this very reason that in Mathura and Vrindhavan Holi is celebrated in great pomp for 16 days. People of all castes, creeds and of all levels play and enjoy together during the time of Holi. This answers the question why Holi is played with colors. So far we have learnt of 2 legends - Holika (why effigy of Holika is burnt) and Lord Krishna's and Radha's eternal love story (why Holi is played with colors). Let us look at some of the other legends that people believe in...
enlarge 58KB, 800x600 7 The Homa has begun Holika Dahan homa has begun. Evil is burning and the good is rising and blessing everyone.
[HISTORY]
Taraka had, by Brahma's blessing, become very strong. Even the gods feared him. The gods prayed to Brahma for help. Brahma could not take back what he had bestowed. However, the gods were assured that a son of Shiva, yet to be born, would kill Taraka.
This was after Sati's death. Shiva was living like a yogi then. But Parvati with her devotion, was trying to move him. Indra sent Kama to speed up things. Kama's wife Rati and friend Vasanta went with him. Kama shot an arrow. Shiva opened his eyes and saw Parvati amidst all the splendour of spring. He felt a strange sensation. Then anger came over him. His third eye opened. Like lightning, a flame leapt forth from it. Kama was burnt to death.
enlarge 76KB, 571x800 8 Vasantha Rithu and Holi What happened to Kama? Once Kama was dead the whole world would lose the meaning and concept of love. Rati wept and cried. She begged Shiva to revive her husband. Shiva was moved. He granted that Kama would live again, though not in a bodily form. That is why he is 'Ananga.'
Since all this happened during the Vasantha Rithu or Spring time, and Kama, love was bestowed, people celebrate this day as Holi by spraying water colors on each other. So this is yet another legend that backs the importance of Holi.
enlarge 66KB, 800x600 9 The Homa is almost over The Homa was almost over. The end would mark the end of Evil and the rise of Good again.
[HISTORY]
We learnt about 3 legends showing why Holi plays an important aspect of Indian festivals. Let us look at another legend that tries to explain why Holi is celebrated. The time is dated back to the time of the younger days of Shri Krishna...
enlarge 114KB, 800x595 10 Putana and Child Krishna Putana, a female demon, tried to kill Krishna. When Krishna was a baby, his uncle, King Kansa ordered a general massacre of all babies. Putana, in the disguise of a woman, suckled infants to death. Krishna, knowing her for what she was, sucked her lifeblood and destroyed her. In Mathura and Vrindavan, where the Krishna cult flourishes, the effigy of Putana is burnt. It is here, in the birth place of Krishna, that Holi is celebrated with traditional songs, dances and spraying of colours. (www.theindianculture.com)
enlarge 56KB, 800x600 11 Blessings The Homa is done and you can see the people seeking the blessings of God by applying the Homa's ash onto their foreheads. So, we have learnt about 4 histories governing the celebration of Holi. Lets head back inside the temple for Aarthi.
enlarge 101KB, 800x600 12 Om Jaya Jagadisha Hare... Aarthi goes on for God. This officially marks the end of the puja for Holi. The next activity was Durga Matha Jagaran.
enlarge 78KB, 800x600 13 Durga Matha... The puja for Durga Matha has begun. We were getting ready to leave for home. Hope you all enjoyed this informational album and please feel free to add you own views and comments. I sure will appreciate it. Happy Holi once again to all and God bless all of us.
