Holi

Holi

Holi is the festival of colour celebrated widely over India and over much of other parts of the world also.

Holi is the festival of colour and celebrates the coming of spring, especially in Northern and rural India.

The story behind Holi, like all Indian myths and legends, is an exciting tale of loyalty, faith and ultimate trust.

Once, there was a demon king named Hiranyakshipu who ruled over the demon kingdom by fear and threats. His son, Prahlad, was nothing like him. He was a devout worshipper of Lord Vishnu, the Preserver, one of the Trimurti. Because Prahlad did not worship him, Hiranyakshipu was furious and ordered him to worship him instead of Vishnu. Prahlad, being true and brave, stood up to his father and said that Vishnu was the one true God who helped and protected everyone.

Hiranyakshipu was enraged so he organised for his minions to kill Prahlad in any way possible. They tried throwing him off a cliff, but he rose back up on the back of a great eagle. They tried to have elephants trample over him but the elephants bowed to him. They even tried to kill him using their swords, but the blades grew rusty and fell at his feet in seconds of being drawn.

In the end, Hiranyakshipu was so annoyed that he asked his sister, Holika to kill him. Holika had a boon from one God that enabled her not to burn. She could sit on the funeral pyre – a huge burning block – with her nephew, Prahlad on her lap and make sure he didn’t escape. She would be safe from the flames but Prahlad would burn alive.

She did just that but to Hiranyakshipu’s horror, Holika burnt instead of Prahlad. This was because she was committing an act of evil and Prahlad was not in the wrong. She was using her powers for evil so they were taken away from her.

This is why an effigy of Holika is burnt on Holi Day to celebrate the end of an evil demoness and the victory of good over evil.

However, this is not the only evil that was conquered.

Hiranyakshipu was so angry that he cursed Vishnu and Prahlad’s devotion to him. He asked if Vishnu was everywhere. Prahlad said yes. In his rage, he punched a nearby pillar, reducing it to dust, and jeered at Prahlad, saying that he had destroyed Vishnu because if he was everywhere, he was in that pillar as well.

Out of the dust, however, rose the figure of Narasimha – half-man-half-lion. Narasimha was an avatar or reincarnation of Vishnu. It is now important to tell you that Hiranyakshipu had also got a boon. He could not die at night or during the day; he could not be killed by hand or by weapon; he could not be killed in air or on earth; he could not die inside or outside, by man or beast.

Therefore, Narasimha fulfilled all of these requirements as he was neither man nor beast; he ripped his chest open with his claws on his lap in the threshold of the palace at twilight, so he didn’t use hand nor weapon, “on his lap” was neither on the floor or in air, threshold is neither out nor in and twilight is neither day nor night.

Thus came the end of an evil era and the beginning of a good time.

Holi is celebrated by, naturally, throwing coloured water bombs, shooting from coloured water guns and generally throwing coloured powder everywhere!

It is a lot of fun and usually falls in March/April. Join in the fun if you go past a temple at this time!

Sources:

Same textbook as the Diwali essay and my bedtime stories of course!