When and why the festival of colors Holi is celebrated?
As soon as the name of Holi festival of colors comes, the balloons of color start bursting in everyone’s mind, everyone has the same idea that in the world of colors, the rain of colors from the cloud of colors and our bodies soaked in it. Holi is such a festival which is celebrated with pomp from children to old age.
The mockery of colorful faces, hoodies, sisters and sisters-in-law all around us starts hooting in the mind. Holi is the festival of extreme euphoria of the human mind. Holi is an important cultural and spiritual festival of our country India. The colors of nature also become very beautiful and enticing with the colors of Holi.
Holi is an important Indian festival celebrated in the spring and for Hindus living anywhere in the world.
When do you celebrate Holi festival of colors?
Holi, the festival of colors, is celebrated every year on the full moon of the Falgun month of spring according to the Hindu calendar, which according to Hindu Panchag is the last day of the year. The Chait month starts on its second day, which is the first day of the New Year and welcomes this new year with great pomp and show.
According to the English calendar, this festival falls most of the times in the month of March and sometimes in the month of February every year.
Holi, the festival of colors, is traditionally celebrated for two days.
Holika Dahan on the first day of the festival
The first day of the festival is celebrated as Holika Dahan, on this day Holika is lit.
On this auspicious day, people collect a huge pile of wood, goitha, and other types of burnable items at the village square.
And then in the auspicious time in the evening, according to the legend of the devotees Prahlada and Holika, they worship the fire and fire it in that wooden pile. And by discharging the ancient tradition, we begin the festival of colors Holi. Holi begins on the second day of Holi by playing Holi from the remaining rakh of combustion.
Holika Dahan
Second day of festival: Dhulendi or Dhurdi
The second day of the festival, which is mainly known by Dhulendi or Dhurndi, Dhurkhel or Dhulivandan, is also known by many other names.
Dhulendi is celebrated as the main day of the festival itself. On this day, people apply color, abir-gulal etc. to each other, Holi songs are sung with dhol-baje, and people go from house to house.
The day Holi
It is believed that on Holi day people forget the old bitterness and enmity and embrace and become friends again. The phase of coloring each other badly and playing songs goes on till noon. Then after bathing and resting after the second half of the day, people go to meet each other’s house in the evening wearing new clothes, hug and feed them sweets.
Why is Holi festival of colors celebrated?
Although there are many stories to be told about celebrating Holi festival of colors, but the most popular, ancient and mythological story is of Srihari (Vishnu) devotees Prahlada and Holika.
According to this legend, thousands of years ago, in ancient times, there used to be an Asura king named Hiranyakashyap. That Asura king had got this boon from Brahma ji that no human, no animal, no god nor any demon could kill him.
He had also taken the boon that he should not be by weapons, indoors, neither in the sky nor on earth nor in the evening nor in the morning, nor in the afternoon nor at night.
Due to the boon of Brahma, that Asura became powerful and egoistic. He started misusing the power and blessing from God. Due to the boon received from Brahma ji, Hiranyakashyap had become very egoistic and wicked and started considering himself as God.
Hiranyakashipu tortured the people of his kingdom and prevented them from worshiping Lord Vishnu. He used to pressure his subjects to worship his own i.e. Hiranyakashyap. As he wanted to avenge the death of his brother whom Lord Vishnu killed.
That Asura king Hiranyakashyap also had a son, whose name was Prahlada. Prahlada was an exclusive devotee of Lord Vishnu. It is believed that when Prahlada was in his mother’s womb, he used to chant Sri Hari, which his mother often used to experience.
Prahlada, despite being the son of Hiranyakashyap, used to do devotion to Lord Vishnu and would ignore his father’s words. On the other hand, the fear of Hiranyakashyap was such that people were forced to believe him as God whereas Prahlada had no fear of him.
Despite explaining a million, Prahlada did not give up Srihari devotion and on the contrary, he also gave knowledge of his father Hiranyakashyap to come at the feet of God. Hiranyakashyap did not approve of his son’s devotion to Vishnu.
Enraged, Hiranyakashyap planned to kill his own son Prahlada. He tried to kill Prahlada from the top of the mountain at first, but nothing happened to Prahlada, he survived safely. Then he tried to put Prahlada in a hot pan and killed him, yet Prahlada was saved safely by the immense grace of Lord Vishnu.
When Hiranyakashipa could not balance Prahlad’s hair even in his many disgusting efforts, he gave his sister Holika the responsibility of killing Prahlada under a conspiracy. Holika also got a boon from Lord Shiva that she cannot be burnt in the fire. But with one condition, that the sheet cloth he got in the boon would have to be worn on his body. Hiranyakashyap ordered his sister that you wear the cloth and sit on Prahlada’s lap and sit in the fire, so that Prahlada’s death could be burnt.
When Holika took Prahlada in her lap and sat in the fire, at that time Prahlada was also chanting Lord Vishnu. How could God see his devotees dying by the wicked just like this. Lord too feels the ultimate pleasure in protecting his devotees, so Lord Vishnu too without delay brought a storm, which flew the boon cloth wrapped around Holika’s body and Holika was consumed in that fire, whereas Prahlada did not harm even the mere name of fire. With the immense grace of Lord Shrihari Vishnu, devotee Prahlada once again survived safely.
There is a belief in Hinduism that this incident was a valley on the day of today i.e. Fagun Purnima which is celebrated as the victory of good over evil.
(After some time Hiranyakashyap tried to kill Prahlada again and Lord Vishnu took the Narasimha avatar and saved Prahlada’s life and killed Hiranyakashyap.)
Holi hangout of Mathura
Holi of Shri Radha Krishna
Holi preparations continue throughout the year in India, but the city of Kanha has already sunk in Holi. All of Braj’s birthplace of Lord Krishna.
